Ants can go both ways Miss Croft - in Australia (especially the far north) we have an array of wonderful ants including Green Tree Ants. Now green tree ants aren't your usual sugar frolickers - nope, these fellows will attack and kill birds (including our beautiful sunbirds) if they do so feel like it.
I used to let their colonies to themselves. But when they started running the roost (my house in Smithfield) I began cutting their nests from the trees into open rubbish bins. I never once got stung... However, they're incredibly vicious predators.
They did keep the cockroach (the American cockroach) population down (thankfully). And apparently they taste just like peppermint when you eat their behinds.
I do have some great pictures of the green ants - but they're not available from my laptop at the moment
I might upload a couple later (actually I think there's some on here - will check soon).
The other issue I have with ants are... They can 'actively farm mealy bug and aphids to the point that plants can be killed! They're the only other creature known that actively farm other animals. Now these ants will protect their flock of mealy bugs so viciously. The only way to effectively destroy the mealy bug is with insecticide as biocontrol methods are useless with the ants being so vicious!
So I do have a lot of respect for these animals, from the intricately weaved nests of the green tree ant to the farmer black ants.
And lets not forget the humble termite - afterall, it's just an ant!
Found the picture: