Ants are tiny but their intelligence and social structure are astonishing. They live in a highly organized system and communicate in a complex way that amazes humans. Ants don't communicate through sound but through chemical signals where one ant releases a pheromone and attaches it to another ant's mouth. The other ant decodes the message and understands it. That's why you often see ants stopping and touching mouths with each other while moving. It's their way of exchanging data.
You've often noticed that before rain ants form a circle outside their nest and create mud hills to prevent rainwater from entering. They can predict rain beforehand because they have a natural sensor called hygrosensor. When humidity increases in the air this sensor detects it and sends a signal to the ants brains. That's why ants prepare their food and shelter before rain.
The meteorological department also uses a similar process measuring humidity levels to predict rain chances.
Ants are incredibly industrious creatures that never rest. They work hard every day traveling long distances in search of food and then carrying it back to their nests. They cover up to 200 meters daily in search of food.
Ants can carry weights up to 10 times their own body weight. There are over 12000 species of ants worldwide with some having strong jaws and venomous stings.
Some ants are attracted to sweet and sugary foods while others cultivate their own food in their nests. They collect leaves and store them which grow a type of fungus that serves as their preferred food source.
Research on the population of ants is also fascinating. Scientists from Germany's University of Würzburg claim that there are approximately 20 quadrillion ants crawling on Earth. A study published in the journal PLOS aims to estimate the global ant population and highlights their ecological importance and diversity.
Researchers say that although ants are ubiquitous and ecologically important their actual population and biomass in any given area are unknown. To estimate this the team reviewed 489 studies on ants across various ecosystems and continents.
The study found that there are approximately 20 quadrillion ants on Earth with a biomass equivalent to 12 megatons of dry carbon. This weight is greater than that of all wild birds and mammals combined and accounts for about 20% of human biomass.
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