Ant species of the world

The Lasius family consists of about 80 ant species. 24 of them are located in the northern or middle parts of Europe. They are a family of small workers and males, in contrast to their large queens.

The Formica family is a large one considering their northern habitats, with about 160 species. The workers are large, quick and aggressive. Parts of the Formica family builds large mounds of forest material, creating the classic ant hill.

The Solenopsis family consists of about 200 species. They are often called Fire Ants (sometimes Red Ants, although other ant species like Myrmica rubra are also called that) and the reason behind the name is their venomous and hurting sting. Some persons may even experience allergic reactions from it. The Fire Ants often forms huge colonies with hundreds of thousands of workers, and they tend to dominate the area of which they settle. The species is spread throughout the world but has an especially strong foothold in the North and South Americas.

With about 1000 species worldwide, the Camponotus family covers large portions of the Earth. But strangely enough not one has been found to inhabit the British isles. The carpenter ant species are huge and it is not uncommon that they are their regions largest ants. The different species prefer to nest in both dead and living trees.

The Myrmica family consists of about 150 species. All of them are constricted to the paleo arctic region. The species can settle in sand, dirt och tufts of grass or moss and form great colonies with many queens. They are commonly know as red ants. Their sting can actually hurt quite a bit.

The Tetramorium family consists of about 400 ant species. They are a species-rich genera and found throughout all the large landmasses. This ant species is very confrontational and guard their territories with precision. They have broad shoulders and powerful jaws, and tend to feed their larvae with seeds. In capticity, Tetramorium is known to hide their food in piles of sand or dirt.