If you asked a random person what insect they imagined was the most populous on the planet, I have to think that ants would come to most people’s minds.

And in this case, most people would be onto something.

A study published in 2022 estimates that there are around 20 quadrillion ants currently scurrying around on this planet of ours, a figure they arrived at after combining and analyzing data from 500 separate studies.

The studies covered insect diversity on all continents, major biomes, and habitats.

This is double the amount estimated in 1994, though that was a first and admittedly rough calculation.

20 quadrillion is 20 million billion, and all together, these ants would weigh 12 (or so) megatons. That makes their total global biomass around 12 megatons of dry carbon – about 20% of humanity’s total biomass.

A 2023 study found that if the mass of all land insects were added (1 billion tonnes), however, it would far outweigh the weight of humans (400 million tonnes) and livestock (600 million tonnes) put together.

There are nearly 16,000 known species and subspecies of ants, and likely at least that many that have not been classified. They live on every continent except Antarctica, though a full two-thirds of them live in either tropical forests or the savannah.

Ants emerged between 140 and 168 million years ago, during the Jurassic period that is known for a warm, lush, wet climate that allowed a huge explosion of life.

This number certainly explains why it’s so tough to get them out of my kitchen.

We might be fighting a losing battle.

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