These ant facts are gathered all over the web. They do not have any scientific value, it’s just a summary. But when you are interested… feel free to look up the species here or click the resource links below each fact.

Deadliest ant (for human)

The real killer-ant is the fire ants. In 1998 a study at fire ant victims learned that from 29,300 victims 83 were killed that year and two almost did. They died after a anaphylactic reaction. Because the fire ant is a growing problem and is also common on other continents the real number of deaths could be much higher!  There is one report of a baby killed by African driver ants Dorylus nigricans.

• Invasivespeciesinfo.gov…rifa, invasivespeciesinfo.gov
• The ants, Volume 514,Bert Hölldobler, Edward O. Wilson
• Medical toxicology, Richard C. Dart
• Survey of fatal anaphylactic reactions to imported fire ant stings, Rhoades RB; Stafford CT; James FK Jr 1989

Fastest bite

Trap-jaw (Odontomachus) ants have the fastest jaws of the world. Not only for ants, but for all known living animals! Amazing, they attack with a speed of 145 miles per hour  or 233 kilometers per hour!

• Powerful jaws could inspire propulsion systems of miniature robots, MSNBC 2006

Most poisonous ant

Ants can attack many ways: bite, sting and spray. Some ants can spray poison 10 cm far. The Bullet ant in South America (Paraponera clavata) sting spreads a venom that is neurotoxic and can disable limbs. Ten stings will kill a men. Also the Fire ant is dangerous.

• Giant tropical bullet ant, Paraponera clavata, Randy C. Morgan

Most destructive ant

There are very destructive ants. Take black carpenter ants (Camponotus pennsylvanicus) , who replace wood by nurseries. They can destroy wooden structures like old buildings. White ants, also called very destructive, are actually not an ant at all: they are termites! Dorylus, the legionary ants, are not that destructive as people say. They do not eat people or trees. They just go for other insects. There is also a legend that a village in ancient times near the Yellow River in China was flooded after ants penetrated the dike. What ant species could be responsible for that disaster is not mentioned.

• Carpenter ants … the invasion of the home snatchers, Bruce Wenning 2006
• The Collapse of a Thousand-Mile Dike Caused by Ants’ Nests Translated by  Guan Ming from zhengjian.org/