Today we’re learning a fascinating truth and debunking a surprising myth about ants. Read below to find out more about ants!
Ants can lift up to 50 times their own body weight. True or False?
True. We know what you’re thinking — there is no way! But yes, this is absolutely true. Strangely enough, the smaller the insect, the stronger it is. This goes back to a great deal of physics. We won’t dive into those technicalities, but remember ants are much stronger than you perceive. The average woman weighs about 140 lbs. She would need to lift 7,000 lbs. to reach 50 times her own weight. That’s comparable to lifting a large SUV!
Queen ants can live up to 15 years. True or False?
False. Double that! Queen ants actually can live up to 30 years — pretty cool, huh? However, worker ants are not as lucky. They have a life expectancy of 45-60 days. While queen ants sleep an average of nine hours a day, worker ants sleep only half of this time. They get by on short power naps, roughly 250 each day and lasting just over one minute, to ensure that enough ants are awake at any given time to protect the colony. Queen ants, on the other hand, fall asleep 90 times a day for more than six minutes at a time. This division of rest helps explain why the queen ants live significantly longer.
