Can ants survive a nuclear bomb?
James Olson
Updated on May 19, 2026
Since 2012, as part of a campaign to count overwintering bats, scientists have examined an old nuclear weapons bunker in Poland. In the summer of 2013, they made another discovery: a population of wood ants (Formica polyctena) was living down there in conditions that made it extremely difficult to survive.
Can ants survive nuclear?
Ants are also spectacularly resistant to radiation. In an experiment a powerful radioactive source (sufficient to kill humans in short order) was left by a nest of common European black ants.What animal would survive a nuclear bomb?
As it turns out, cockroaches can withstand a huge amount of radiation – which is why many survived the 1945 blasts.Can cockroaches survive a nuke?
Most cockroaches can survive moderate amounts of radiation, and 20% of cockroaches can survive high atom-bomb level radiation (10,000 rads). In fact, cockroaches were found perfectly fine and healthy just 1000 feet away from where the Hiroshima atom bomb was dropped.What animals would survive an apocalypse?
6 Creatures That Could Survive an Apocalypse
- Cockroaches. Cockroaches are the classic apocalypse survivor. ...
- Mummichog. The mummichog, also called the killifish or mud minnow, has evolved to survive in extremely polluted water. ...
- Tardigrade. ...
- The Devil Worm. ...
- Ants. ...
- E.