Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related families of wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. They are a diverse group of more than 12,000 species, with a higher diversity in the tropics. They are known for their highly organized colonies and nests, which sometimes consist of millions of individuals. Individuals are divided into sub-fertile, and more commonly sterile, females ("workers", "soldiers", and other castes), fertile males ("drones"), and fertile females ("queens"). Colonies can occupy and use a wide area of land to support themselves. Ant colonies are sometimes described as superorganisms because the colony appears to operate as a unified entity.
Ants have colonized almost every landmass on Earth. The only places lacking indigenous ant species are Antarctica, Greenland, Iceland, parts of Polynesia, the Hawaiian Islands, and other remote or inhospitable islands. When all their individual contributions are added up, they may constitute up to 15 to 25% of the total terrestrial animal biomass.
Termites, sometimes called white ants, are not closely related to ants, although they have similar social structures. Velvet ants, although resembling large ants, are wingless female wasps.
Anthony Steven Kalloniatis (born August 22 1967 ), now known professionally and legally as Ant , is an openly gay Greek-American Jewish stand-up comedian and actor.
Ant prefers his name spelled in all caps.
A native of Londonderry, New Hampshire, Ant performed at comedy clubs across the nation. For four years starting in 1995, he was a semiregular cast member on the WB series Unhappily Ever After.
With the end of that show and looking for ways to supplement his income, Ant recruited several men to become internet models. His involvement in the voyeur cam business is documented in the 2001 film WebCam Boys, which he also co-produced.
Ant appeared as a contestant on Last Comic Standing, and has appeared in four of that show's five seasons. That same year, he released a comedy album on Comedy Central Records, Follow My Ass. In 2005, he released the comedy DVD, "ANT: America's Ready."
He is the host of VH1 reality series Celebrity Fit Club and was a regular judge of talent on Steve Harvey's Big Time. His television series, U.S. of ANT, premiered on MTV Network's gay-targeted Logo cable channel in the summer of 2006. Ant also frequently appears as a commentator on such shows as VH1's Best Week Ever and CNBC's Dennis Miller, and is a regular guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
In 2007, he appeared along with Snoop Dogg as a guest star on MTV's sketch comedy show Short Circuitz.
On March 20, 2007, Ant celebrated his 5th appearance on The Howard Stern Show.
Currently he is a talent judge in NBC's 5th season of Last Comic Standing, along with Kathleen Madigan and Alonzo Bodden.
Ant is an avid poker player and also one of the "famous faces" , due to being a regular player on the online poker website Hollywood Poker which is run in conjunction with Ongame Network.
Ant is a hip hop producer, whose full name is Anthony Davis.
He is best known as being one half of the hip hop group Atmosphere, but has worked with many other artists and projects, mostly with Rhymesayers Entertainment, such as Brother Ali, I Self Devine, Felt and The Dynospectrum. He has also released two solo albums, Melodies and Memories, and Melodies and Memories 85-89.
