These minuscule segmented bugs are capable of performing amazing achievements. Here in Delta, we deal with mainly five different species; carpenter ants, pavement ants, grease ants, odorous ants and thatching ants. The most remarkable attribute of these miniature monsters is their power.They have muscle fibers of numerous kinds that contract and enlarge at variable speeds and strengths. The muscles are attached directly to internal flanges of its external skeleton or indirectly with filaments attached to the connection points. Ants can carry objects that are hundreds of time heavier than the own weight and as a team can haul large volumes back to their nest. Their power is a result of their extraordinary surface-to-body weight ratio and their exoskeleton. In fact, next to dung beetles, which can lift 2,000 times its body weight, ants neck joints can withstand several thousand times their body weight. Outside, ants are busy working to maintain their nest which benefits the soil by aerating and tilling it, they help spread seeds and prey on many different destructive insects. Other insects benefit from the presence of ants, such as aphids in a symbiotic relationship. It is estimated that there is over one quadrillion (1,000,000,000,000,000) ants in the world.
