Suicide: Evolutionary Roots in Self-Sacrificial Behaviors May Be Found In Honey Bees, Ants

A new study examines a potential connection between human suicide and self-sacrificial behaviors seen in honey bees and ants.

Researchers at Florida State University examined potential parallels between suicide in humans and self-sacrificial behaviors of eusocial species, including shrimp, mole rats and insects.

"The idea that something mysterious and scary like suicide in humans could have some sort of analog in animals is not only kind of fascinating, but also really promising in terms of trying to figure it all out," lead study author Thomas Joiner, said in a news release. "Humans are a species that is eusocial, and that's an important starting point. That suggests a certain set of characteristics, including some really striking self-sacrifice behaviors."

Researchers note that eusocial behaviors, also understood as part of inclusive fitness in evolutionary biology, are adaptive. However, as the researchers examined suicide in a more modern context, they that suicide among humans represents a derangement of the self-sacrificial aspect of eusociality.

"If you can identify animal models for this behavior and understand its circuitry at the neurochemical and neurophysiological levels, then it might lead to new insights about similar circuitry that fail in human suicide," Joiner said.

The study is published in the journal Psychological Review.

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