While ants, known for their industriousness, continue to be one of the study subjects of the scientific world, we have obtained many useful and admirable information about ants so far. Well, have you ever thought out of nowhere how many ants live on earth in total? It didn’t happen to us either, but the scientific world answered this question as well.
In a new study published in the journal PNAS, published by the US National Academy of Sciences, scientists calculated how many ants live on Earth. The answer to the question was much more than you might think.
Calculated without hesitation: How many ants live on Earth?
Calculating the number of ants with 15,700 identified species and subspecies was not easy. Scientists analyzed 489 different studies published to date. To calculate the number of ants, major habitats on each continent of the world were considered, inhabiting all areas such as forests, deserts, grasslands and cities.
In the hundreds of studies reviewed, the estimated number of ants was given by ants caught in traps set up by scientists. Based on these approximate numbers, scientists managed to give a new estimated number: About 20 quadrillion (16 zeros) ants live on Earth! Moreover, this number is 2 to 20 times higher than previous estimates, even if it is a ‘conservative’ estimate according to scientists.
Well, how much do these ants weigh?
After calculating the approximate number of ants, scientists followed the answer to this question. However, a clear answer could not be given since the weight of the ants varied greatly depending on the species. Because it is known that ants have a weight of 1 to 150 milligrams, depending on the species. Our black and small friends that we see every day weigh an average of 5-7 milligrams.
However, this weight is calculated with all the materials that the ants have in their bodies individually. In order to make the calculation more consistent, scientists pursued the ‘dry weight’ obtained by removing fluid from the bodies of living things. This weight also showed the biomass of living things in the ecosystem.
As a result of the calculation, the scientists concluded that 20 quadrillion ants have a dry weight (or biomass) of about 12 million tons. This number
- From the sum of the biomass of all wild birds and mammals, and
- It was about 20% more than the total biomass of humans.
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