Ants make up two-thirds of the biomass of all the insects. There are millions of species of organisms and we know almost nothing about them.

Well, let me tell you, ants are the dominant insects. They make up as much as a quarter of the biomass of all insects in the world. They are the principal predators. They're the cemetery workers.

Ants are the dominant insects of the world, and they've had a great impact on habitats almost all over the land surface of the world for more than 50-million years.

It's always been a dream of mine, of exploring the living world, of classifying all the species and finding out what makes up the biosphere.

Ants are the leading removers of dead creatures on the land. And the rest of life is substantially dependent upon them.

The work on ants has profoundly affected the way I think about humans.