Types of Ants

You may like to know about the total number of ants existed in the world. The number is whooping! There are 1 x 10¹⁵ ants in the world! That is: 10,00,000,000,000,000! Do you understand that how they outnumber us, humans?

Ants, one of the most successful animals of the world to survive and thrive has thousands of species. There are 11,880 types of ants species have been recorded. It is possible that many thousands of types are still not discovered yet. Ants are successful because of their adaptability to nature. The varieties of ant species are noteworthy. You can find ants as small as less than 0.01 inch to as big as more than 1 inch in length. Some ants are a bit fierce looking while some are quiet cute. Let us discuss about some of the well known ant species.

The old slave raiders’ souls from hell may get some comfort that there are a species of ants known for such activities. They are Amazon Ants. This type of ants cannot do any work. That is why they raids other ant’s colonies and stills their babies in pupae form. Afterwards, when these babies grow up they do everything for their masters, from housekeeping to food collecting.

Argentine ants got their nickname from Argentina. They are the natives of the southern part of South America. But now they can be found everywhere in the globe. These ants are small and can go through tiny cracks. Argentine ants, which were introduced to other parts of the world shows some strange behaviors; one colony do not compete with other and ants of different colonies mix freely with each other. Moreover, they have strange genetic similarities.

Army ants are known for their predatory behaviors and large scale foraging. They form a large group with thousands of ants to raid. Actually, there are more than 200 types of ants known as “Army Ants”. These types of ants form living nests called bivouacs. They form a ball shaped by gathering one after another. In this way there living house is created. If you see such a living ball of ants anywhere do not try to mess with it. Because, on slightest provocation the ball will be burst into an army of angry ants, some of which are equipped with stings.

Big headed ants heads are big and are seen everywhere. They are one of the most successful ants species. There are thousands of types of species of ants known as big headed ants.

The body of a bullet ant has some type of metallic glow. Bullet ants do not have any colony. These types of ants are single. Bullet Ants are known for very painful stinging. It’s has the credit of the most painful stinger of the world. It has got its name from its stinging which is as painful as a bullet wound! Do not try to catch one if you have seen one.

Bulldog ants are natives of Australia. They are relatively bigger than other ants. They are aggressive and have poisonous, painful stinging abilities. There colony can survive without a queen because in the time of necessities the female bulldog ant workers can produce offspring.

Carpenter Ants are most common in America. They are a nuisance because of their habit of hollowing woods. They makes nest in woods and thus is considered as pests. They can damage your house if it is made of wood. There are many types of carpenter ants and all of them are not harmful to man. That is why everybody tries to get rid of carpenter ants.

Crazy ants are called so because of their habit running about here and there crazily. They are can harm environments. They are known for forming supercolonies, that is, an empire of multiple ant colonies living together without any fight or competition. In this way, in they have captured Christmas Island. There are 2254 ants per mt² there!

There are more than 250 species of Fire Ants. They can be seen all over the world. They can sting painfully. The poison of their sting can be allergic for some. They are the most favorite food of the carnivorous plant Venus Flytraps.

Honey Pot Ants are living food storages. The worker ants fill the abdomen of honey pot ants with food. It is filled so much with food that their abdomen is swollen as a balloon. How original are they! They are called honey pot because the juice stored in their inflated bellies is as sweet as honey. Many Australian tribes eat them as highly delicate sweets.

Jack Jumper ants can jump! They are a type of bull ant. They can be found mostly in the southern part of Australia. They have strong poison and can even cause death to human beings by mere stinging. In Tasmania, more people die every year from the Jack Jumper stinging than the total combination of the victims of sharks, snakes, wasps and spiders!

Lemon Ants can change its surroundings. They can kill large trees by injecting formic acid. In Amazon forests, it is often seen that a large area is cleared of any vegetation except one species of trees (D. hirsute, where these insects build nests). If you eat one it will taste like a lemon. That’s why they are called lemon ants.

Pharaoh ants cause major nuisance to people. They love to invade human houses in large numbers. They are very fond of hospitals. Pharaoh ants have multiple queens in one nest, which is uncommon among social insects.

Thief ants are known for their tendency of stealing food from other ant colonies. They make their nests nearly other ant colonies and wait for their chance to steal.

Weaver ants build their nests by weaving leaves of trees using a kind of larval silk. They often form large colonies with millions of ants. Because of their aggressive natures, they are often used as biological pest controller by the farmers.

Some of the ants are considered as pests. Fire ants and carpenter ants often invade our houses and make life miserable. There are various types of ant killers available in the market for making your home ants free.

Queen ants are the largest among all ants. The queen of the Dorylus ants is the largest among them. Dorylus is a genus of army ants. Dorulas is also known as “Driver ants” and “Safari Ants”. The queens of the driver ants are often larger than 3cms in length. The males are more massive for having fleshy abdomen like a sausage. African tribes use driver ants jaws to stitch wounds.