Super Massive Anthills of The Savvy – Are Ants Trying To Communicate ? The Largest Anthills in the World and What They Say About Ants

The Giants Beneath Our Feet: The Largest Anthills in the World and What They Say About Ants

Ants—tiny, tireless, and astonishingly efficient—are nature’s unsung engineers. Their anthills, often dismissed as mounds of soil, are in fact intricate superstructures rivaling human skyscrapers in complexity and ingenuity. Some of these anthills are so large that they are visible from satellite imagery, challenging our assumptions about the limits of small creatures.

The Largest Anthills in the World

1. The Brazilian Supercolony (Amazon Rainforest)
   Perhaps the most famous discovery is a 3,700-mile-wide ant megastructure in Brazil, formed by leafcutter ants. While not one anthill, it’s a vast network of underground tunnels, chambers, and waste dumps that took thousands of years to build. Some parts of it span the size of small cities.

2. Giant Anthills of Australia
   In parts of northern Australia, Cathedral Termite mounds (built by termites, close relatives of ants) can reach up to 4 meters (13 feet) tall. Though not technically ants, their mound-building behavior is similar and often grouped in studies of insect architecture.

3. The Ant City in Africa
   In parts of Mozambique and Angola, towering anthills up to 10 feet high and 20 feet wide have been discovered. These contain complex tunnel systems with ventilation shafts and farming chambers, used to cultivate fungi—a primary food source.

4. Anthill Casts: The Underground Skyscrapers
   In 2004, scientists poured concrete into a massive leafcutter ant colony in South America. After weeks of excavation, they revealed a subterranean structure with air-conditioning systems, farming rooms, and highways, stretching over 50 square meters and going 8 meters deep.

Shapes of Anthills: Not Just Dirt Mounds

Anthills come in diverse shapes, based on environment, species, and colony size:

• Conical Mounds – Classic dome shapes seen in temperate regions.

• Cathedral Mounds – Tall, angular, chimney-like structures in arid zones for thermal regulation.

• Flat Disk Nests – Underground nests with a circular flat entrance; seen in Sahara species.

• Tree or Arboreal Nests – Constructed in trees with silk, common in weaver ants.

• Fungus Gardens – Found in leafcutter ant colonies, with chambers for growing fungi.

Each shape serves functional purposes like ventilation, moisture control, food storage, and predator defense.

Can Ants Communicate with Us?

While ants are not “trying” to communicate with humans, their architectural feats are a form of biological expression. Through pheromones, body language, and social cooperation, ants demonstrate collective intelligence—a decentralized decision-making process akin to AI swarm logic.

Some scientists suggest that their structures represent a form of insect-scale urban planning, not unlike human cities. The sheer scale and precision raise philosophical questions: Are we witnessing intelligence in a form we fail to recognize?

How Do Ants Perceive Us?

To an ant:

• A human appears as a moving mountain, often invisible if not emitting vibrations or pheromones.

• In terms of size, we are to them what Mt. Everest is to us, only more mobile and chaotic.

• In terms of intelligence, ants likely have no concept of individual self-awareness or external intellect. They process us as obstacles or threats based on immediate stimuli like touch, shadow, or scent.

Their brains, although tiny, are optimized for group behavior, not individual cognition. Their “intelligence” lies in the colony, not in any single ant.

Books and Stories Celebrating the Resilience of Ants

1. “Journey to the Ants” by Bert Hölldobler and Edward O. Wilson
   A fascinating deep dive into ant biology, behavior, and the evolution of their social structures.

2. “The Lives of Ants” by Laurent Keller and Elisabeth Gordon
   Explores how ants live, organize, and even wage wars, drawing comparisons to human society.

3. “Empire of Ants” by Bernard Werber (fiction)
   A sci-fi novel that anthropomorphizes ants to explore questions about civilization, war, and intelligence.

4. “Ant Encounters” by Deborah M. Gordon
   This book introduces the concept of decentralized decision-making and how ant colonies function without leaders.

5. “The Ants” by Hölldobler and Wilson (Pulitzer Prize Winner)
   A comprehensive scientific tome—akin to an encyclopedia of ant behavior and biology.

Top Ants in the World: Champions of Their Kind

1. Leafcutter Ants (Atta spp.) – Agricultural pioneers; they grow fungi for food and form mega colonies.

2. Weaver Ants (Oecophylla spp.) – Expert architects that sew leaves together using silk from their larvae.

3. Army Ants (Eciton and Dorylus spp.) – Known for massive coordinated raids, blind but unstoppable.

4. Bulldog Ants (Myrmecia spp.) – Found in Australia; aggressive and with powerful stings, among the largest ants.

5. Argentine Ants (Linepithema humile) – Form massive supercolonies across continents due to their cooperative nature.

Final Thought

The next time you see an anthill, remember: beneath that modest mound may lie a complex, sprawling city that rivals anything humans have built—in complexity if not in material. Ants may not be trying to talk to us, but they are showing us what collective will, cooperation, and resilience can achieve, even without big brains.

Are we truly the most intelligent species, or just the loudest?

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As of May 2025, Pep Guardiola holds the record for the most wins by a football manager in their first 250 matches in all competitions, particularly within the Premier League.

🏆 Most Wins in First 250 Matches – All Competitions

While comprehensive global data is limited, Guardiola’s achievements in the Premier League are unparalleled. He reached 250 wins with Manchester City in just 344 matches, surpassing the previous record held by José Mourinho, who achieved the same in 396 games. Manchester City FC

⚽ Premier League: Wins in First 250 Matches

In the Premier League, Guardiola’s record is particularly impressive:

• Pep Guardiola: 184 wins

• Jürgen Klopp: 160 wins

• José Mourinho: 158 wins

• Sir Alex Ferguson: 152 wins

• Arsène Wenger: 146 wins Premier League Live+4Khel Now+4Stadium Astro+4Manchester City FC+1Manchester City FC+1

Guardiola’s win percentage stands at an impressive 73.6%, the highest among permanent managers in Premier League history. Manchester City FC+1Manchester City FC+1

🌍 Global Context

While Guardiola’s records in the Premier League are well-documented, data on managers’ first 250 matches across all global leagues is less readily available. However, his rapid accumulation of victories with Manchester City suggests that he is among the most successful managers globally in terms of early career wins.

In summary, Pep Guardiola stands out as the manager with the most wins in his first 250 matches in all competitions, particularly within the Premier League, underscoring his exceptional impact in top-flight football.

Sources

As of May 2025, Pep Guardiola holds the record for the most wins by a football manager in their first 250 matches in all competitions, particularly within the Premier League.

🏆 Most Wins in First 250 Matches – All Competitions

While comprehensive global data is limited, Guardiola’s achievements in the Premier League are unparalleled. He reached 250 wins with Manchester City in just 344 matches, surpassing the previous record held by José Mourinho, who achieved the same in 396 games.

⚽ Premier League: Wins in First 250 Matches

In the Premier League, Guardiola’s record is particularly impressive:

• Pep Guardiola: 184 wins

• Jürgen Klopp: 160 wins

• José Mourinho: 158 wins

• Sir Alex Ferguson: 152 wins

• Arsène Wenger: 146 wins aftv.co.ukKhel Now

Guardiola’s win percentage stands at an impressive 73.6%, the highest among permanent managers in Premier League history.

🌍 Global Context

While Guardiola’s records in the Premier League are well-documented, data on managers’ first 250 matches across all global leagues is less readily available. However, his rapid accumulation of victories with Manchester City suggests that he is among the most successful managers globally in terms of early career wins.

In summary, Pep Guardiola stands out as the manager with the most wins in his first 250 matches in all competitions, particularly within the Premier League, underscoring his exceptional impact in top-flight football.