“The little things that run the world” is how biologist Edward O. Wilson described insects and other invertebrates – and it’s hard to argue with him when you look at the distribution of ants across the globe. The irrepressible creepy crawlies have colonized almost every landmass on Earth – but there are a few exceptions. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

How many ants are there?

First things first, how many ants are there in the world? Fortunately, scientists have already done the math here: in 2022, a “conservative” (!?) estimate suggested our planet is home to 20 quadrillion, yep, quadrillion, ants. That’s 20 million billion and amounts to a total biomass of 12 megatons of dry carbon.

This exceeds the combined b

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