Ants are one of the types of social inset and there are more than 12,000 species of ants and nearly as many species that are not discovered yet. It is believed that ants appeared on the planet 130 million years ago and can be found on all continents except Antarctica. Here is the list of some of the biggest ants in the world,
Biggest Ants In The World
1. Giant Amazonian
The Giant Amazonian is the biggest ant in the world that can grow upto 2.5 cm. The dietary habit is carnivorous in nature and injects a fatal poison into the prey such as insects, slugs, and even small lizards. The ant species are scattered throughout the forest and mostly seen under tree trunks, holes, and under fallen leaves. The avarage lifespan of a Giant Amazonian is between 12 to 14 months. Though they are a nuisance to humans, however, they perform functions in the environment that help maintain environmental balance.
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2. Bullet Ant
Bullet ants have mostly been in the lowland tropical rainforests in Central and South America. It is believed that bullet ants have the most painful sting in the world and it can be compared with a gunshot hence the name. The species is a member of Hymenoptera which most ants, wasps, and bees belong. The avarage lifespan of a bullet ant is up to 90 days (for worker ants). The body size is bertween 18 to 30 mm and avarage wieght is upto 60mg. The primary diet includes small arthropods and nectar.
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3. Carpenter Ant
Carpenter ants often get confused with termites because of thier fondness for wood which is thier in everyone’s house, however, there is a difference between them, termites will actually eat the wood in your house while carpenter ants won’t feed on your home’s wood. Carpenter ants are of two types, one is a reddish-brown head but features a black midsection, and the other one is known as the black carpenter ant and has a relatively uniform dark brown and black body.
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4. Dinoponera Quadriceps
Dinoponera quadriceps is one of the biggest ants in the world and it is a queenless species of ants that belongs to the subfamily Ponerinae. The ant species originated from Brazil and uses its venom for subduing large live prey and defense. Venom is also used in different defense industries. Dinoponera Quadriceps can be easily confused with the Dinoponera mutica, howvever, has a finely micro-sculptured integument that is not shiny and lacks gular striations. These ant species are seen in the regions of the Caatingas, Cerrados, upland humid forest, and Atlantic forest.
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5. Banded Sugar Ant
The Banded Sugar Ant name scientific name is Camponotus consobrinus and is native to the Australian region. The name of the ant species comes from its liking for sweet food and sugar. These ant species usually get confused with pharaoh ants as their colors are similar. Talking about its appearance, female species have blackheads, orange thorax, and orange-brown bands around their gaster, however, male species are completely black. The body size is between 5 to 15 mm and have 6 legs. It is mostly seen in the region of South Eastern Australia. The lifespan of banded sugar ants is between 6 to 10 weeks.
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6. Black Carpenter Ant
Black Carpenter Ant is mostly seen in colonies along with the worker and queen. The queen species is slightly bigger than the worker ants with a larger thorax and wings, however, most of the workers are wingless. The size of any species is about half-inch (1.2 centimeters) long and looks completely black with yellowish hairs on the abdomen. They are mostly seen in dead logs and wood in forests. The avarage lifespan of black carpenter ant species is between 6 to 12 weeks.
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7. Slave-Maker Ant
Slave-Maker ants are also known as blood-red because of the red blood coloration of the head, legs, and thorax. The abdomen of the species is entirely black. The ant species are mostly seen in the pine forests and plantation forests, including non-native plantations such as Sitka spruce and larch. They are blood parasites because they capture broods of other ant species to increase the working force of their colony. The lifespan of a worker slave maker is a few months and upto 3 years for queens.
8. Southern Wood Ant
Southern Wood Ant is the largest UK ant species where worker ants can reach upto 10mm in length and queen species can reach upto 12mm in length. Talking about the appearance of worker ants, they are reddish-brown- to yellow in color with a dark patch on the head. The legs and body are hairy and have large mandibles. The queen species is brownish in color with a lighter underbody. The primary diet includes other insects and invertebrates such as caterpillars and spiders. The lifespan of worker ants is between 1 to 3 years in the wild.
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9. Green Ant
Green Ants are carver ants mostly seen in Southeast Asia and Northern Australia. They are named because of their striking green bodies, and mostly near forests and thick woodlands. They are aggressive ant species and anyone that invades their territory will be attacked. The nest of the ant species can be formed with the help of sewing together leaves with the silky substance that can be squeezed from larvae.
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10. Formica Fusca
Formica Fusca is one of the biggest ants in the world that can be identified With h black, legs brownish. Gula, occiput, mid-femora, and promesonotum without standing hair. The body length is between 4.5 to 7.0 mm and the distribution is holarctic. It is commonly seen throughout Europe as well as parts of Southern Asia and Africa. It is also known as a silky ant or dusky ant and the range within the palaearctic region extends from Portugal in the west to Japan in the east and from Italy in the south to Fennoscandia in the north. The primary diet includes fruit, sugarwater, or ant jellys.
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These are some of the biggest ants in the world. Kindly share and do post your comments.
