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Numbers in the News: Ants
Head outside this summer, and there’s a good chance you’ll encounter ants. Check out some import-ant facts and figures about these tiny insects.
SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
20 QUADRILLION
The estimated number of ants on earth—making them the most numerous insect in the world.
10 TO 50 TIMES ITS BODY WEIGHT
The amount of weight that the average ant can carry.
FROM ANT COLLECTION OF SARAH PFEFFER/PHOTO HARALD WOLF
2.8 FEET PER SECOND
The speed of the fastest ant species, the Saharan silver ant. It can travel a distance equal to 108 times its body length in one second.
3,700 MILES
The length of the largest known ant colony. This massive nest, called a supercolony, stretches from Northern Italy to the Atlantic coast of Spain.
THINK ABOUT IT: Ants are found almost everywhere on Earth. Why do you think these insects can live in so many different environments?
SOURCES: ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA, GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS, PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES (2022), TOXINS (2016)