Researchers Estimate , Ants Outnumber Humans , 2.5 Million to One.
Scientists now estimate that
the global population of ants
is a staggering 20 quadrillion.
'The Guardian' reports that means
there are approximately 2.5 million
ants for every single human.
The ant has thrived since the age of the dinosaur.
The oldest-known ant fossil dates back
to about 100 million years, at a time
known as the Cretaceous period.
Ants certainly play a very central role
in almost every terrestrial ecosystem, Patrick Schultheiss, Co-author and entomologist
at the University of Würzburg in Germany and
the University of Hong Kong, via 'The Guardian'.
The world is home to over 12,000 known
species of ants, which range in size from
about 1 millimeter to about 1.2 inches long. .
They exist everywhere on the planet,
except in Antarctica, Greenland, Iceland
and a few island nations.
The ant's closest relatives are bees and wasps. .
The team's work was published in the journal
'Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.'.
Ants are so essential for the smooth working of biological processes that they can be seen as ecosystem engineers, Patrick Schultheiss, Co-author and entomologist
at the University of Würzburg in Germany and
the University of Hong Kong, via 'The Guardian'.
The late ant scientist E.O. Wilson once called them ’the little things that run the world’, Patrick Schultheiss, Co-author and entomologist
at the University of Würzburg in Germany and
the University of Hong Kong, via 'The Guardian'.
The late ant scientist E.O. Wilson once called them ’the little things that run the world’, Patrick Schultheiss, Co-author and entomologist
at the University of Würzburg in Germany and
the University of Hong Kong, via 'The Guardian'