How Many Ants Live on Earth

Scientists estimate that about 20 quadrillion ants live on Earth. A 2022 study led by researchers at the University of Hong Kong pooled nearly 500 field surveys to reach that number. The authors called it a low estimate because they couldn't count ants living deep underground. That works out to roughly 2.5 million ants for every person alive.

Ants also weigh more than you might guess. The same study found that all the world's ants together outweigh all wild birds and wild mammals combined. Researchers have named more than 12,000 ant species so far, and new ones turn up every year.

Every Worker Ant Is Female

The ants that march across a patio, guard a mound or carry crumbs are all sterile females. Males hatch only when a colony is ready to start new colonies, and their one job is to mate during a swarm flight. Most die soon after.

Ants belong to the same insect order as wasps and bees, and the family resemblance shows. A fire ant has a stinger at the tip of its abdomen, just like a wasp. It grips the skin with its jaws, then stings. Winged ants that pour out of a mound in spring are young queens and males on their mating flight, and many people mistake them for termites.

Facts About Texas Ants

Some of the world's most unusual ants live in Texas, and some of them share DFW yards. This table pairs common Texas ants with one fact that sets each apart.

Ant Where it lives in Texas Surprising fact
Red imported fire ant Eastern two-thirds of the state, including DFW Floats on floodwater by linking bodies into a raft
Texas leafcutter ant Central and East Texas Grows its own fungus garden on chewed leaves
Red harvester ant Open, dry ground across much of Texas The main food of the Texas horned lizard
Carpenter ant Wooded lots and damp wood Carves tunnels in wood but doesn't eat it
Pharaoh ant Warm spaces inside buildings A colony splits into new colonies when disturbed

Fire Ants Came to Texas by Ship

Red imported fire ants are not native to Texas. They came from South America and entered the US through the port of Mobile, Alabama, around the 1930s, possibly in soil carried as ship ballast. According to Texas A&M's history of the red imported fire ant, they reached Texas in the 1950s and now infest the eastern two-thirds of the state.

They spread so well partly because floods don't drown them. When water rises, workers link legs and jaws to form a living raft with the queen and young inside, then drift until they reach dry ground. Newly mated queens also hitch rides on cars and trucks. In DFW, fresh fire ant mounds often pop up across a lawn within days of a heavy rain.

Texas Leafcutter Ants Farm Fungus

Texas leafcutter ants don't eat the leaves they carry. They chew the pieces into a mulch and grow a fungus on it, then eat the fungus. Each colony tends its garden in underground chambers and weeds out molds that threaten the crop.

Their fungus has adapted to Texas winters. Colonies near Dallas sit at the northern edge of the ant's range. Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin found that their fungus handles cold better than the fungus farther south. UT Austin's report on leafcutter fungus crops suggests that the fungus's cold tolerance also sets how far north the ants can spread.

The Texas Horned Lizard Depends on Ants

The Texas horned lizard, the official state reptile, eats mostly harvester ants. The lizard has declined across much of its old range. Texas Parks and Wildlife lists the spread of fire ants among the suspected reasons, along with habitat loss, pesticides and collection for the pet trade. Fire ants raid native ant colonies, and fewer harvester ants leave the lizard with less to eat.

Fire ants change a yard's balance of native ants in the same way. Where fire ants take over, native species that rarely bother people tend to disappear. If fire ants have taken over your lawn, our ant control for DFW yards targets the colonies with baits workers carry home to the queen. Homeowners near our headquarters can see the local version on our ant control in Southlake page.

Facts About Ants FAQ

Do ants have lungs?

No. Ants breathe through tiny openings along the sides of their bodies called spiracles. Air flows through a network of tubes that carries oxygen straight to their tissues.

Do ants sleep?

They rest in short bursts. Workers take many brief naps through the day and night rather than one long sleep, so part of the colony is always awake.

Are all ants in a colony related?

Mostly, yes. In a colony with one queen, every worker is her daughter. Some ants, including many fire ant colonies in Texas, keep several queens, so workers can be half-sisters or more distant relatives.

Fire ant mounds that return after every rain mean a colony is still feeding below. Request a price through the website or over the phone, and our crew will treat the colonies where they live.