Uploaded June 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
10 Amazing Ant Facts
1. Ant colonies have such effective communication that they function as superorganisms.
2. There are 20 quadrillion ants on Earth, which is about 2.5 million ants for every person.
3. The bullet ant inflicts one of the most painful insect stings in the world. The pain is described as being similar to a gunshot wound and lasts for up to 12 hours.
4. The fastest movement in the animal kingdom is the Dracula ant’s snapping jaws. It can snap its mandibles at over 200 mph.
5. Ant colonies are able to pass useful information from one generation to the next, which scientists term "colony memory."
6. The word "ant" is from a compound of Germanic *e,-ai ="off, away" + *mai= "cut,” or, literally, "the biter-off."
7. Most ants can hold their breath underwater for 24 hours.
8. While the velvet ant looks like an ant, it is actually a hairy, wingless wasp. Some insects and spiders mimic ants to avoid predators or to gain access to an ant colony.
9. Ants developed during the mid-Cretaceous period, or 110-130 million years ago.
10. In Columbia, the hormiga culona (“big bottom” or “fat butt”) ant is considered a delicacy. It reportedly tastes like buttered popcorn.
10 Amazing Ant Facts
1. Ant colonies have such effective communication that they function as superorganisms.
2. There are 20 quadrillion ants on Earth, which is about 2.5 million ants for every person.
3. The bullet ant inflicts one of the most painful insect stings in the world. The pain is described as being similar to a gunshot wound and lasts for up to 12 hours.
4. The fastest movement in the animal kingdom is the Dracula ant’s snapping jaws. It can snap its mandibles at over 200 mph.
5. Ant colonies are able to pass useful information from one generation to the next, which scientists term "colony memory."
6. The word "ant" is from a compound of Germanic *e,-ai ="off, away" + *mai= "cut,” or, literally, "the biter-off."
7. Most ants can hold their breath underwater for 24 hours.
8. While the velvet ant looks like an ant, it is actually a hairy, wingless wasp. Some insects and spiders mimic ants to avoid predators or to gain access to an ant colony.
9. Ants developed during the mid-Cretaceous period, or 110-130 million years ago.
10. In Columbia, the hormiga culona (“big bottom” or “fat butt”) ant is considered a delicacy. It reportedly tastes like buttered popcorn.
