Ants some find them fascinating…others find them a nuisance and still yet other say they are the first sociable species
Here are just a few facts about ants some find frightening:
In 2006, Scientists from Harvard and Florida State University collaborated to conduct a massive genetic analysis on ants from 19 out of 20 known subfamilies. Their findings suggested that ants first arose in the mid-Cretaceous period — about 110—130 million years ago. And yes, that means Ants are as old as the dinosaurs and Ants have already survived a mass extinction event.
Ants have conquered almost the entire globe with the exception of Antarctica, the Arctic, and a handful of islands, just about every piece of land on Earth harbors at least one native ant species; the ones that don’t host invasive species. One group of ants conquered six continents, the Argentine ant, Linepithema humile the species has become established in at least 15 countries throughout the world — including a number of isolated, oceanic islands (including Hawaii) — spanning six continents.
Some ants are quite large the largest ant ever discovered was actually a fossilized 
specimen belonging to Titanomyrma giganteum, was about 2.4 inches long and had a wingspan of almost six inches. Granted, T. giganteum isn’t around anymore, and many ants are less than a millimeter long — but there are still species like the African driver ant, Dorylus wilverthi, that exceed two inches in length.
Ants have a hive mind but still cooperate with other species. There are over 200 known species of so-called fungus growing ants. Scientists had long assumed that fungi cultivated by these ants were simply passed on between generations within individual species. But in a study conducted in 2000, researchers at the University of Texas at Austin discovered that the ants’ cultivars are occasionally transferred between species, as well.
But perhaps the most humanlike and frighterning fact … Ants practice slavery. Many species of ants are known to raid neighboring colonies and steal eggs or larvae in a practice known as “dulosis”. The forcibly acquired young are then either eaten or put to work. Species that practice dulosis are called, quite simply, “slave-making ants,” and they rely on this practice to support their colonies. In fact, some species of ants are thought to be incapable of feeding themselves in the absence of slave labor.
