Scientists discover staggering number of ants on Earth is 20 times higher than we thought

The number of ants on Earth is far, far bigger than anyone previously thought possible, as fascinating new research has shown.

In fact, it’s 20 times higher than previously believed – with a whopping 20 quadrillion ants crawling across and below the surface of our planet.

That’s 20,000 trillion, for anyone struggling to grasp just how many that is, and it comes after the most comprehensive study into ant population ever conducted, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Sabine S. Nooten is the co-author of the study and insect expert. Nooten said: "We had virtually no expectations because the numbers circulating previously in scientific writings were essentially educated guesses."

The number was revealed by researchers at the University of Wurzburg in Germany. They found that the world’s population of the incredible creatures are most concentrated in tropical and subtropical regions.

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The experts took in empirical data from a number of different studies, while also considering the impact that human activity and deforestation could impact ant numbers in future.

Incredibly, research undertaken as part of the study shows areas of particularly high population density, with South America alone home to around three quadrillion ants.

There are also 2 quadrillion ants in temperate climates and 1 quadrillion in arid and semi-arid environments.

The new approach to the data comes after previous estimates put forward by biologists Bert Hölldobler and Edward O. Wilson suggested that ant populations were closer to the 1 quintillion mark.

The ant, of course, is an insect everyone in the world is familiar with – but would you actually recognise one if you saw one up close (and we mean really up close)?

A super-close-up picture of an ant was previously revealed, and it just may haunt you in your nightmares.

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