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This number doesn't surprise me. I live within the Arctic circle and there are a lot of wood ants [0] in my area. Among the various reasons wood ants are fascin

This number doesn't surprise me. I live within the Arctic circle and there are a lot of wood ants [0] in my area. Among the various reasons wood ants are fascinating (aphid farming, formic acid spitting/squirting) is that they live in very large mounds that can reach several feet high. Each of these mounds are estimated to have a population ranging from 100,000 to over one million and there can be dozens of them within a 100m × 100m square. I imagine it similar to the state of New York full of NYCs, just a few miles between each. A Finnish study found that these mounds can be connected into super-colonies which span kilometers. [1] I have also lived in California and have experienced red ants beginning to stake out territory near or in my home. Remember that they are not there just because of the food sources, but in spite of us making the terrain otherwise utterly inhospitable to them with pavement, insecticide, diatomaceous earth, and all of that. And still they can be incredibly difficult to get rid of. The way they operate as a colony makes them very interesting. I can see why so many people have caught the ant-fascination bug. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formica https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formica [1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27859791/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27859791/

whycome 2y ago
Ants are aliens aren't they. Or at least we might be more likely to find antlike creatures if we do find extraterrestrial life.
- Qem 2y ago
  > Ants are aliens aren't they. That reminds me of Phase IV. It's like an alien invasion movie, but with ants instead: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070531/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070531/
- pavlov 2y ago
  "Children of Time" by Adrian Tchaikovsky is an excellent sci-fi novel that also includes ants that were uplifted by a human terraforming experiment. They're interesting semi-aliens because the colonies are incredibly capable in many respects but ultimately lack self-awareness, which leaves the ants open to manipulation by other uplifted species that are capable of motivated planning. The ants become like biological technology for the other species.
- tracerbulletx 2y ago
  Arthropods would probably think we were the aliens considering their taxonomic dominance of Earth since the beginning of the Cambrian Explosion.
frantathefranta 2y ago
Growing up in an area with big ant hills, I just can't wrap my head around the fact that there are more ants by weight than all other mammals combined. Because I can imagine a small forest with multiple of these ant hills which undoubtedly have millions of ants, but at the same time an apartment building with a few humans in it would surely outweigh all of those ants. So where are all the ants hiding?
- minitoar 2y ago
  They specify wild mammals. Humans are like 600 megatons I think.
  - darkwater 2y ago
    60 megatons. Study mentions that the 12 megatons of ants are equivalent to 20% of the total human mass.
    - nathanmcrae 2y ago
      No, 600 megatons (~E12 kg) is closer. There are E10 humans and we weigh E2 kg. More precisely: 6E1 kg * 8E9 = 5.6E11
      - darkwater 2y ago
        Numbers are to be considered about dehydrated mass, again according to the study.
        minitoar 2y ago
        Interesting. I didn’t read the study. I wonder if that favors smaller animals? Are large mammals a larger fraction water?
    - ahartmetz 2y ago
      About 500 megatons. 7e9 humans * 0.075 tons/human / 1e6 tons/megaton

whycome 2y ago

Ants are aliens aren't they. Or at least we might be more likely to find antlike creatures if we do find extraterrestrial life.

Qem 2y ago
> Ants are aliens aren't they. That reminds me of Phase IV. It's like an alien invasion movie, but with ants instead: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070531/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070531/
pavlov 2y ago
"Children of Time" by Adrian Tchaikovsky is an excellent sci-fi novel that also includes ants that were uplifted by a human terraforming experiment. They're interesting semi-aliens because the colonies are incredibly capable in many respects but ultimately lack self-awareness, which leaves the ants open to manipulation by other uplifted species that are capable of motivated planning. The ants become like biological technology for the other species.
tracerbulletx 2y ago
Arthropods would probably think we were the aliens considering their taxonomic dominance of Earth since the beginning of the Cambrian Explosion.

frantathefranta 2y ago

Growing up in an area with big ant hills, I just can't wrap my head around the fact that there are more ants by weight than all other mammals combined. Because I can imagine a small forest with multiple of these ant hills which undoubtedly have millions of ants, but at the same time an apartment building with a few humans in it would surely outweigh all of those ants. So where are all the ants hiding?

minitoar 2y ago
They specify wild mammals. Humans are like 600 megatons I think.
- darkwater 2y ago
  60 megatons. Study mentions that the 12 megatons of ants are equivalent to 20% of the total human mass.
  - nathanmcrae 2y ago
    No, 600 megatons (~E12 kg) is closer. There are E10 humans and we weigh E2 kg. More precisely: 6E1 kg * 8E9 = 5.6E11
    - darkwater 2y ago
      Numbers are to be considered about dehydrated mass, again according to the study.
      - minitoar 2y ago
        Interesting. I didn’t read the study. I wonder if that favors smaller animals? Are large mammals a larger fraction water?
  - ahartmetz 2y ago
    About 500 megatons. 7e9 humans * 0.075 tons/human / 1e6 tons/megaton