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Ants Outnumber Humans 20,000 to 1: Tiny Creatures Dominate the Planet
15 Oct
Summary
- Estimated 2.5 million ants per person on Earth
- Ants outweigh humans by 12 megatons
- Ants have 20,000 species compared to humans' 1
In just a few weeks, the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut will open a new exhibition called "Ants: Tiny Creatures, Big Lives" that aims to showcase the incredible abilities of these small but mighty insects. According to the museum's curator of science, Daniel Ksepka, ants are far more numerous and influential than most people realize.
An ant census from the University of Hong Kong in 2022 estimated that there are 2.5 million ants for every person on Earth. In total, all those ants together would weigh around 12 megatons—the equivalent of building 36 Empire State Buildings. Ants also vastly outnumber humans in terms of species, with an estimated 20,000 ant species compared to just one for humans.
The exhibition will use large-scale models and replicas to help visitors appreciate the tiny scale of ants. For example, the world's largest ant species, Dinoponera gigantea, will be displayed at 35 times its actual size, revealing its menacing compound eyes and venomous stinger. In contrast, the smallest known ant, Carebara atoma, is so tiny that it can fit on the eye of the giant Dinoponera ant.
