How Much Does One Million Ants Weigh?

Counting the number of ants on earth might sound mind-boggling. However, it’s not hard to get a good sense of the number by taking a look at the total biomass of these little creatures.

The biomass of ants is greater than the combined biomass of all wild mammals and birds on the planet. Ants can carry objects that weigh as much as 22,000 pounds and can lift objects weighing as much as 1000-5000 times their own weight.

The biomass of ants is greater in tropical regions than in arid areas. They are also more common in forests.

The number of ants on earth is estimated to be 20,000,000,000,000,000. This number is a conservative estimate. Some scientists believe the actual number could be even higher. In fact, there are 15,000 different species of ants, which have a vital role to play in the ecosystem.

The biomass of ants is larger than that of all wild mammals, birds, and humans. The biomass of all humans is 60 million tonnes, and of all mammals, 7 million tonnes.

The total number of ants on earth is 20 quadrillion, which is 2.5 million ants for every human. This figure is based on four hundred and ninety-nine published studies on ant numbers.

One million ants would weigh about 6.6 pounds. The average size of ants is three milligrams. The smallest ants weigh less than one milligram.

Ants are surprisingly abundant in arid areas. In fact, they are more common in arid regions than in human-populated areas.