There are only about 230 known parasitic species of ants among the 12,500 or so described ant species. Despite their rarity, they are common in a few subfamilies like the Myrmicinae and the Formicinae (Buschinger 2009), and common in temperate ants but rare in tropical ants (Hölldobler & Wilson 1990).

Can ants carry parasites?

Summary: Ants are quite often infected by parasites. For example, tapeworms use ants as intermediate hosts for a part of their development phase before they complete their life cycle in their main host.

What are examples of parasitism?

Examples of parasitism are the helminthes (worms) in the intestines of the host, lice (Pediculus humanus capitis) in human head, Plasmodium species transmitted by anopheline mosquito and causing malaria in humans.