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The ants, one of the most successful groups of insects, are of particular interest because they form advanced colonies, and can constitute up to 15% of the total animal biomass of a tropical rainforest. They belong to the order Hymenoptera, and are close relatives of the vespoid wasps. The first known ants, documnted by fossils, appeared in central New Jersey in Turonian amber (92Ma) during the Cretaceous period, and it is believed that they evolved from the wasps that had appeared during the Jurassic period. They are morphologically distinguished mainly by having six legs, sharply elbowed antennae, wingless worker cast, the first abdominal segment being fused with the thorax (= alitrunk or mesosoma), a wasptail like constriction between the first and second abdominal segment, and by having one to two bead-like round to scale-shaped pedicel formed from the second and third abdominal segments respectively, which in wasps are joined to the gaster. The queens and males of ants have mostly wings, which they loose after nuptial flight; however winlgess queeens (ergatoids) and males can occur. The currently known 11,836 (Aug. 29, 2005) ants occur worldwide but are especially common in hot climates. 22,000 ant species are expected to live on planet Earth.