It is estimated that there are around 16,000 species of ants — and possibly a lot more. They are hyper-social creatures. Instead of inventing new vocabulary, we describe their specialized roles in human terms. Queens & sires. Builders & cleaners. Nurses & babysitters. Farmers & foragers. Soldiers & scouts. Some live subterranean. Some live arboreal. Some are vegans. Some are carnivores. They vary in individual size and multitude. Some can fly. Some use their bodies to build large bivouac structures. They use a chemical pheromone "language". Most ant colonies are territorial and not very kind to their neighbors. They have coevolved with other species. A few super colonies have offspring all over the globe.
The research is ongoing.