How much do ants weigh?

An ant weighs, on average, between 1 and 5 milligrams. With almost 10,000 ant species worldwide, the combined weight of all the ants on Earth is greater than that of all the people.

Observers have long noted that, despite their small size, ants carry loads up to 20 times larger than themselves. On a human scale, this is equivalent to a 150-pound person carrying around a compact car. Thus, in 2014, in an attempt to understand the physiology of their strength and its application to future technology, investigators found that the American field ant's neck joint can withstand a pressure that is 5,000 times that of the ant's weight.