Behold the industry of leafcutter ants. Sometimes described as building the second most complex societies after humans, leafcutter ants are behind an amazing abandoned colony discovered in Brazil. Led by Arizona State University's Dr. Bert Hölldobler and Luiz C. Forti of Sao Paulo State University, a team of scientists set about mapping their incredible discovery.
Over three days, the scientists poured 10 tons of cement into the abandoned colony's ventilation ducts to make a cast—note that it was an abandoned colony, so no ants were harmed. The excavation, which took weeks to complete even with heavy equipment, revealed a massive complex, 500 square feet in area, extending 26 feet deep.
The excavation process was covered in a documentary called Ants: Nature's Secret Power. The long tunnels and many chambers of the colony equate to our roads and buildings. But it didn't have just one architect—it's the product of the "collective will of the ants."
The ants would have made "billions" of trips the equivalent of over half a mile, carrying a load weighing many times their own body weight, to build the colony. In all, the colony contains roughly 1,900 chambers and 200 fungus farms.