It is more common for ants to sting people than it is for them to bite people. There are three types of ants that are known to sting people occasionally: fire ants, acrobat ants, and harvester ants. The ants that are capable of biting are tawny crazy ants and carpenter ants. All ants use their bite or sting as a defense mechanism, usually when ants in their colony are threatened. For the most part, though, ants do not bite or sting people.