Ants Outnumber Humans 20,000 to 1: Tiny Creatures Dominate the Planet

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.

Beyond just showcasing the ants' physical attributes, the exhibition will also highlight their remarkable behaviors and abilities. Ants are skilled architects, constructing elaborate underground nests that can extend nearly 20 feet deep. They are also accomplished farmers, tending to fungal gardens and stockpiling food. Some even collect the remains of small animals. And in a particularly cunning strategy, the spiny ant is able to "hijack" the colonies of carpenter ants by killing the queen and then disguising itself with the carpenter ants' scent.

With so many fascinating facts about these tiny creatures, the "Ants: Tiny Creatures, Big Lives" exhibition is sure to captivate and educate visitors when it opens on November 13th.