Ants are found almost everywhere in the world, and so are stories about them.

In Persian poetry, the ant stands for humility, persistence, and wisdom.

In North African mythology, it is said that humans learned how to farm by observing ants. They are respected as sacred keepers of knowledge.

In Ancient Greece, Aesop’s fable had the provident ant diligently working all summer, while the cicada – in later versions, the grasshopper – whiled its time away singing and dancing.

Ants go to war and capture slaves.

In Mesoamerica and South America, ants are seen as warriors. Although they are small, their bites can be painful. They are fierce and protect their colony.

If ants decided to team up against humans, we would be outnumbered by approximately 2.5 million to 1. Which may explain the large number of stories and movies that feature giant man-eating monster ants.

Ants communicate and cooperate.

Ants are eusocial animals, which means they organise themselves in highly cooperative, state-like structures. They form complex societies that distinguish between a rather peaceful ‘inside’ and a more conflictual ‘outside’.

The ant is a symbol of diligence. Ants are known for their industriousness and their ability to carry ten to fifty times their body weight.

Some ants are used for pest control. Their tireless work creates a significant impact on our planet, benefitting not only themselves and their colony, but also the ecosystem at large. Birds and small mammals may eat the insects that are driven out by ants.

Ants are sustainable.

Ants can be great snacks and a sustainable source of protein.

Ants are the smallest insects of the world, but there are so many of them that if you weighed all of them together, they would be as heavy as 20% of the human population.

Which is just as well, since “it takes two hundred thousand ants just to make a decent sandwich,” according to the aardvark from The Ant and the Aardvark.