How strong are ants?

One ant is strong – a colony is almost unstoppable

Ants are incredibly strong insects; leafcutter ants can carry 50 times their own weight, and Asian weaver ants have been observed carrying things 100-times heavier than themselves. When they work together their strength is formidable; their social lifestyle is one of the keys to their success.

Part of this lifting ability comes from their small size. With light exoskeletons, muscle that has to be used to support the body in larger animals can instead be dedicated to pulling and carrying. Were ants to be scaled up to a bigger size their weight would increase more than their muscle strength, reducing their lifting power significantly.

While being small is the ant’s main advantage, it does have other anatomical adaptations that help with its life of hauling food and building materials. Compact bodies and gradual changes in limb width towards joints minimise weak points. Microscopic surface textures around joints are thought to help brace body parts against each other against the force of heavy loads or reduce stress when the hard Working together, ants can carry prey much bigger than themselves exoskeleton is forced against soft tissue. Sticky, expanding footpads allow the insects to balance on smooth surfaces and even travel upside down while keeping hold of their loads. Strong mandibles with quick pincer actions allow ants to grab hold of food and keep all their legs free for a quick journey back to the colony.