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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle

Does the weight of all the ants in the world really equal that of all the people?

Rafael Gomezbarros’ ant art installation at the Saatchi Gallery in 2014
Maybe they’re just getting bigger ... Rafael Gomezbarros’ giant ant art installation at the Saatchi Gallery in 2014. Photograph: David Levene for the Guardian

When I started in school in 1968 we were told that the weight of all the people on earth (then about 3.5 billion) was equal to the weight of all the ants on earth. Was this true? I heard this repeated as a fact on the radio just the other day, with the world population now at 7.3 billion. Has the population of ants likewise increased? Have ants got heavier? Or both?

Gareth Pritchard, Daventry, Northants

• Post your answers – and new questions – below or email them to nq@theguardian.com. Please include name, address and phone number

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