How Many Ants Are There on Earth?
WouterCounting ants has been a long-standing curiosity for scientists. They’ve wondered about how many ants are there on Earth and how they measure up to other animals. In recent years, scientists have been attempting to estimate the ant population on the planet.
The current estimate, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is that there are 20 quadrillion ants. This number represents two to twenty times the previous estimate. Counting ants can be done in a number of ways, such as leaf litter samples, pitfall traps, or ants trapped in a pitfall trap.
The new study found that ants are present in a number of different habitats across the world. They are most common in tropical forests and savannahs. They also appear in other areas, such as arid regions. They also can be found in underground habitats.
The new study analyzed 500 ant population studies from around the world. Researchers searched for studies that were conducted between 2014 and 2020. These studies measured local ant numbers in major habitats such as tropical forests, savannahs, and grasslands. Some studies were conducted in Europe, North America, and Southeast Asia.
The new study is the first “bottom-up” effort to estimate the ant population on Earth. It’s based on actual counts of ants caught all over the world. It’s likely to be more accurate than previous calculations. However, the final tally is likely to underestimate the total number of ants on Earth.
