Which Black or Red Ants Can Carry the Most Weight?

Harvester Ants

• Harvester ants are one of the strongest black ants. A harvester ant usually carries seeds and pieces of leaves and grass to build their nest and to serve as food. A typical harvester ant can carry five times its own weight. They prefer building nests in grasslands where they have access to an abundance of food and nest materials.

Formica Japonica

• The Formica Japonica is a black ant that belongs to the Formica family of ants. This particular species can carry around five times its own eight and can drag an object 25 times its own weight. Formica Japonicas do not have stingers, but they have a powerful mandible and their abdomens produce acid that sprays as a form of defense.

Leafcutter Ants

• Also known as "fungus farmers," leafcutter ants are red ants that can carry pieces of leaves around 10 times their weight. These ants are equipped with a very powerful mandible, designed to cut leaves. Once they cut a piece of leaf, they carry it back to their nest and chew it to become a pulp. The pulp is then stored so that a specific strain of fungus grows on it. This fungus serves as the ants' food.

Army Ants

• Army ants are red ants that can carry as much as 20 times their own weight. These ants are highly aggressive and they attack their prey in a large group, thus earning the moniker "legionary ant." Unlike other ant species, army ants are nomadic and do not build permanent nests. These ants are also carnivorous and often attack large insects.