Ants seem to be everywhere. You can find them on lawns, on sidewalks, and maybe even in your kitchen.
But how many of these tiny insects are on our planet? Thanks to a recent study, scientists believe they have the answer: more than 20 quadrillion. That’s 20 followed by 15 zeros. For each living person, there are about 2.5 million ants!
Scientist Patrick Schultheiss led the study. He and his team calculated that giant number of ants by examining data that had been collected about them over eight years.
“We found that the weight of all the ants on Earth is higher than the weight of all wild birds and wild mammals combined,” Schultheiss says.
Many people often think of ants as pests. But the insects play a valuable role in the environment. They dig tunnels in soil that help plants get the water and nutrients they need. Ants also spread seeds that enable new plants to grow.
“I think we can now start to appreciate just how important they are,” Schultheiss says.