Re: Percentage of biomass made up by ants

According to Hölldobler and Wilson (1990), up to 1/3 (33%) of the 
terrestrial animal biomass (NOTE: not including aquatic animal, or 
terrestrial and aquatic flowering plants and microorganisms) was made up 
of ants and termites.  A study made in Finland produced a terrestrial 
animal biomass of ants alone of 10%.   In the Brazilian rain forest the 
biomass of ants exceeds that of terrestrial vertebrates by four times! 
Thus a figure for ants of 15% of all terrestrial animal biomass is not out 
of line. I would doubt that they are 15% of all living things because 
plants and microorganisms make up a large part of the earth's biomass and 
the biomass of marine organisms (none of which are ants) is usually not 
included in such calculations.

References:

Hölldobler, Bert, and E. O. Wilson. 1990. The Ants.  Harvard University 
Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

LaSalle, J., and I. D. Gauld.  1993. Hymenoptera and Biodiversity.  C.A.B. 
International, Oxon, U.K.