- Common Name: Ant
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Class: Insecta
- Order: Hymenoptera
- Superfamily: Formicoidea
- Family: Formicidae
25 Ant Facts for Kids
- Ants are social insects that live in a colony.
- An ant can be identified by their elbowed antennas and distinct node-like body structure.
- Ants can be found on every continent except Antarctica.
- Ant colonies sizes can be as small as a few dozen ants, while large colonies have millions of ants.
- Ant colonies are considered superorganisms.
- Ants can be as small as 0.03 inch and as large as 2 inches.
- Ants are omnivores, their diet consists of both plant and animal matter. There are some species of ants that are considered carnivorous.
- It’s estimated that ants can carry between three to ten times their body weight.
- It’s estimated there are over 22,000 species of ants worldwide.
- It’s estimated that the worldwide population of ants is between one and ten quadrillion.
- Based on the estimated worldwide ant population for every human, there is between 150,000 and 1.5 million ants.
- Some regions have so many ants that they can accountant for 25%+ of the terrestrial animal biomass for that region.
- Ants communicate using touch, sound, vibrations and pheromones.
- A queen ant is a fertile female ant that produces eggs for the colony. Some colonies can have more than one queen.
- A worker ant is a sterile female ant that completes multiple tasks for a colony, like foraging and digging.
- A drone ant is a fertile male ant that can fertilize newly hatched queens that fly off to establish new colonies.
- An ant colony war is when two ant colonies fight. Ironically, multiple ant colonies can be near each and not result in an ant colony war. However, when they do happen, each colony loses lots of members on both sides, and one is usually completely destoryed.
- Ants have the longest lifespan in the insect world. The western harvester ant queen can for up to 30 years.
- Army ants are foragers, and a large colony can have a trail of ants over 320 feet long and over 65 feet wide.
- Leafcutter ants produce the most complex animal societies on our planet, only rivaled by humans.
- Fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) are an invasive species in the United States and other countries, their known for their painful stings.
- The bullet ant (Paraponera clavate) is believed to be the ant species with the most painful sting. People stung by a bullet ant have compared it the pain of a gunshot wound, hence why it’s called the bullet ant.
- The largest ant ever to roam our planet was the Titanomyrma giganteum. The queen could reach 2.4 inches in length and had a wingspan of about 5.9 inches.
- Ant keeping is a hobby where people keep ants as a pet.
- The scientific study of ants is called Myrmecology and a person who studies ants is called a Myrmecologist.
A picture of Army Ants.
Credit: Daniel Kronauer
A picture of a Bullet Ant.
Credit: Adrian Royle / Flickr
A picture of a Fire Ant.
Credit: Jaroslaw Rospond / Flickr
Additional Resources on Ants
- All Things About Ants – If there was ever a website that had everything about ants this would be it!
- Ants – National Geographic – Discover more facts about ants on the National Geographic website.
- Ants – Wikipedia – Find more ant facts on the Wikipedia website.
- Ant Identification Guides: Ant Control & Extermination – A useful identification guide for ants that are commonly considered household pets.