At least 8,800 known species exist, and most of them live in the tropics. Ants are found all throughout the world, except in the polar regions and a very high altitudes. Ants are entirely different from termites .
Ants have a great amount of importance in the environment.
Ants contribute immensely to population control of their prey, recycling of plant material, seed dispersal, and the turning of the soil. The actual success of ants is in the part to their mastery of social organization.