Empirical Study Data Calls The Number Of Ants In The World Achieving 20 Kuadrillion

Ant illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/Alexander Wild)

JAKARTA - Have you ever crossed your mind, how many ants are in all over the world today? The latest research says the number of ants is currently estimated at 20 quadrillion.

Biomassa of the individual's 20,000,000,000 ants will weigh about 12 megatons, more than all wild birds and mammals combined in the world combined.

Researchers at the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Hong Kong are behind a massive tally project, whose main focus is understanding the role of ants on the planet and the natural processes of various ecosystems.

"The astonishing presence of the ants has prompted many naturalists to reflect on their exact number on Earth, but the systematic and empirical forecasts that are passed down are still lacking," the researchers wrote in their research, published in the journal Processings of the National Academy of Sciences, reported The National News September 22.

"Integrating data from all major continents and biomes, we estimate conservatively 20 × 1015 (20 quadrillion) of ants on Earth, with a total biomass of 12 dried carbon megatons," he said.

Meanwhile, saja S Nooten, an insect ecologist who is the co-author of this study, told CNN: "We almost have no hope because the figures previously circulated in scientific literature are basically educated guesses, and they have little empirical data to work on."

"And, so, this is something new from our research because we synthesized data from many empirical studies," he said.

By integrating data from about 500 different studies, where scientists often calculate all the ants in the community they study, the research team can make estimates, which they emphasize as 'conservative'.

Ants are important ecosystem engineers, moving dirt, distributing seeds, and recycling organic matter. They can also be found almost everywhere on the planet, except for the Arctic and Antarctica.