Top 10 Biggest Ants In The World

key point

• There are more than 12,000 species of ants worldwide.
• The largest ant in the world is the giant Amazon ant, which can reach a length of 1.6 inches.
• The largest ant colony in the world is the Argentine Super Colony.

Ants are fascinating creatures with a strict hierarchy within their colony, with worker ants doing all the work. Ants are found almost everywhere in the world, and more than 12,000 species of ant have reproduced to date. Although many species are similar in color, they vary in size, ranging from the smallest imaginable to the astoundingly large. Here are 10 of the largest ant species.

#10: Fumika Fuka

Formica fusca is widely distributed in Europe, Asia and Africa. Also known as silk ants, they are black and like to live on rotten trees at the edge of forests and sometimes in hedges. These ants can grow up to 0.28 inches long and live in groups of between 500 and 2,000 ants. Each colony contains several queens. Formica fusca typically eats aphids, black flies, green flies and moth larvae.

#9: Green Ants

Green ants, also known as green-headed ants, are native to Australia, but there are now some in New Zealand as well. They are called green ants, although their color can be green or various shades of purple. Green ants grow to around 0.28 inches, and queens are slightly larger than workers. They are a highly adaptable species able to live in a variety of habitats including forests, woodlands, deserts and urban areas. Green ants are poisonous and their stings have been known to cause anaphylactic shock in some people, which can be especially dangerous for those affected, although they usually only use it to kill beetles and moths.

#8: Southern Carpenter Ant

Southern carpenter ants, also known as red wood ants, have a remarkable appearance—orange and black bodies—and can grow up to 0.35 inches long. While they are common in the UK, they are also found in North America. Southern carpenter ants prefer woodland habitats, but they can occasionally be found in swamps, and their nests often look like large grassy patches. They have a defense mechanism that sprays formic acid on predators. Southern carpenter ants play an important role in pest control because they eat a wide range of beetles and small insects that would otherwise destroy woodland habitats.

#7: Slavemaker Ants

The slavemaker ant (formica sanguinea) can grow up to 0.4 inches long and has a bright red head and legs and a black body. They are the largest ants in the UK, but are also common in other parts of Europe, Japan, Russia, China, Korea, Africa and the Americas. Slavemaker ants live in woodland habitats and are known to raid the nests of other ants, usually formica fusca. The queen kills the existing queen, and the workers then become workers for the slave ants, hence the name. They also have an excellent defense mechanism, using formic acid to kill their prey, like some other species.

#6: Black Carpenter Ants

The black wood ant (camponotus pennysylvanicus) is native to Canada and eastern and central America, where they can be found in most woodland areas. They nest in trees and dead wood, although they are classified as pests because they often cause structural damage to homes and other structures when colonies invade. These ants are usually about 0.48 inches long and black with white hairs. They don't sting and aren't venomous, but they can bite violently and still spray the bite with formic acid. Black carpenter ants have a much wider range of parameters than other ants, often traveling 100 yards or so in search of food ranging from plants to small insects.

#5: Banded Sugar Ants

Native to Australia, the banded sugar ant got its name from its love of all things sweet and sugary. These ants grow to around 0.6 inches and are found in a variety of habitats including woodlands, grasslands, forests, and coastal and urban areas. They are easily identifiable because females have a black head with an orange band along the middle, while males are black with orange-brown legs. Banded sugar ants are a common household pest because they often chew wood and damage furniture, but they don't sting and don't bite very often. Although they are the dominant species, they often attack the nests of other ants, where they will trap and kill rivals.

#4: Dinosaur Quads

Quadriceps dinosaurs are a species of venomous ants from Brazil, and their favorite habitat is warm, moist forest areas. They are all black ants and are about 0.8 inches long. Dinoponera quadriceps is a particularly unusual species of ant because they do not have a queen, but instead all females are capable of reproduction. They build their nests under trees and do not leave the tree that far to find food. They are omnivorous, but use venom to subdue their prey when catching live insects. Their sting can be very painful, in some cases severe pain lasting about two days.

#3: Carpenter Ants

Carpenter ants (camponotus ligniperda) are widely distributed around the world and get their name from their ability to build nests in wood, which they often chew until they hollow out a section to build. Although they prefer dead wood, they are often built to nest in homes where they can wreak havoc on the structure of buildings, which is why they are often classified as pests. Carpenter ants are usually black or dark brown and are usually 1 inch long. They are a particularly aggressive species, defending their nests fiercely if they are startled or feel threatened, and will often kill worker ants of other species if they get too close to the nest.

#2: Bullet Ants

One of the largest ant species is the bullet ant, which can usually reach a length of about 1.2 inches. They live in the rainforests of Central and South America, where they nest at the bottom of trees. Bullet ants are red and black in color and are named for their excruciatingly painful sting, often likened to the sting of being shot. They also produce poneratoxin, a neurotoxin, which causes paralysis and pain in the affected area. In addition, bullet ants are one of the main predators of glasswing butterflies.

#1: Giant Amazon

The largest ant in the world is the giant Amazon ant, which can reach an impressive 1.6 inches in length. Found only in South America, these giant ants are happy to live in tropical rainforests and coastal areas. Females are jet black, while males are crimson, allowing them to be territorial when confronted by other ants. Giant Amazon ants typically nest in the soil and travel no farther than 30 feet in search of food. They eat a wide variety of plants and insects as well as spiders, snails and crickets.

Reward: The world's largest ant colony

The largest ant colony in the world is the Argentinian Super Colony, which is 3,730 miles (6,004 kilometers) long. The colony stretched from near the Spanish city of A Coruña to near Genoa on the coast of Italy.

Argentine ants are an invasive species in Europe. Once this species landed on European soil, it formed two super-colonies, the larger of which formed the largest cooperative unit ever! Other large ant colonies include:

• Hokkaido Super Ant Colony: An ant colony on Japan's northernmost island was at one point inhabited by an estimated over one million queens! While urbanization has reduced the colony's population, it is believed that 45,000 nests are connected by a complex series of passages.
• California super colony: Argentine ants also become an invasive species in California. The colony was smaller than the European super colony, measuring "only" 560 miles.

Top 10 Biggest Ants In The World Summary

These ants top the list and are among the top 10 ants that walk the planet.

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