The Total Weight of Ants on Earth Rivals the Total Weight of Humans
A giant scale balancing a dense swarm of ants on one side against a crowd of humans on the other, tipping nearly even
There are an estimated 20 quadrillion ants on Earth, with a combined biomass of roughly 80 million tonnes. This is in the same order of magnitude as humanity's total dry biomass.
Why Itβs Interesting
Despite each ant weighing only 1 to 2 milligrams, their sheer numbers create a collective mass that competes with 8 billion humans. It reframes who really dominates the planet β in terms of biomass, ants have been winning for 100 million years.
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