Nature’s tiny titans

Ants can carry up to 100 times their weight because their muscles are thicker relative to their body size than those of larger animals

If humans were as strong, we could lift 4.5 tons above our heads – equal to three cars

24million ants would be needed to lift a 12-ton double decker bus

Ants have been on the planet for 130million years (primitive humans first evolved around 2million years ago)

The combined weight of all the ants on Earth – ten thousand trillion – is roughly the same as all 7billion humans

They are found all over the world, except in Antarctica, Greenland and a few remote islands

Soldier ants have large heads packed with muscle while queen ants, forced to lay enough eggs to ensure the colony survives, have a larger abdomen

Ants mate in the air as well as on the ground. The male dies within a day or two, while the queen can mate with many more partners

An ant has two stomachs, one to digest its own food and the second to store food for others, but no lungs, with oxygen entering its body through tiny holes

Ants are edible, with some tasting spicy because of the formic acid they produce

A crushed ant emits an ‘alarm’ scent that sends nearby ants into an attacking frenzy

While some ants live for weeks, queens can live for up to 30 years