6 Animals That Build Their Own Houses
Architecture is not something reserved for humans. In fact, much of our species’ ingenuity comes from watching animals build their own homes. Although it doesn’t seem like it, the engineering of today’s society used wild organisms as the basis to provide answers to many of the problems.
In the following lines, you will find a review of nature’s most amazing nests. It will not be possible to remain indifferent to the enormous complexity and efficiency of these structures, especially considering the small size of many of the living beings that build them.
the need for a home
The tendency to seek the safety and comfort of a refuge is common to most animals. This drive is directly related to survival, since the effectiveness of the nests that are built largely determines the success of a species.
In any case, it is important to point out that the act of building their own houses is not only a way that certain animals have found to keep themselves safe from predators, but are also part of the communication, feeding and reproduction of species. In the following lines, you can see how all these functions come together.
6 animals that build their own houses
Some species improvise a nest every day – like gorillas – but others build real cathedrals that remain over time, despite the inclement nature. Below, you will learn about some of these biological works.
1. Bees
This insect ( Apis ) could not be missing from our list. If there’s an example of efficiency and engineering in nature, it’s bees. The honeycomb is formed by a hexagon structure that the workers build with wax, whose simplicity combines the use of space, energy conservation and resistance.
Optimizing the shape of honeycombs reaches unexpected extremes: the bottom of the cells is not flat, but composed of 3 rhomboid walls that fit perfectly into the adjacent cell layer.
2. Animals that build on high: weaver birds
This group of weaving birds build works of art so incredible that it’s difficult to choose just one species as a representative. Using their beaks in the same way a human uses a sewing needle, these birds intertwine plant fibers to create structures that allow entry for parents but not predators.
3. Termite Cathedrals
Compared with the Sagrada Familia, termites ( Isoptera ) are animals that build true architectural giants. The epigeal termite mounds – erected on the surface – are resistant to all types of inclement, but that’s not all: their structure is a complex network of tunnels that don’t lose anything to a pyramid.
Its internal skeleton facilitates air circulation so that the internal temperature does not rise too high. In any case, designs that are ineffective for some reason are rebuilt for better optimization.
4. Weaver ants
Anthills are another marvel of non-human architecture, but not all ants build underground. This is the case of the weaver ant ( Oecophylla ), which creates nests in the very leaves of trees.
It’s amazing how all the workers unite to fold the leaf, while another joins the ends with the silk of their own larvae. These nests can range from a single leaf to an entire crown.
5. Animals that build their homes underwater: the beavers
The famous beavers ( Castoridae ) are one of those groups of animals that, like humans, modify the environment in their favor – and not the other way around. The dams they build have the function of reducing the force of the current that punishes their nests.
Furthermore, the stagnation of the water produced by the dam gives them the possibility to search for food in peace and have a quick escape route in the presence of a predator. As they are a little slow on land, beavers sometimes build water channels to places where they collect materials.
6. Spiders
The variety of spider webs is immense, from tiny ones – undetectable to the eyes of predators – to those that turn golden in the autumn light, all looms made by arachnids have a specific biological purpose. Some spiders even decorate their webs to attract their prey.
Spider webs are configured in terms of resistance and visibility, varying according to the arachnid’s needs in relation to characteristics such as predation, defense and weather conditions. Some spiders don’t make webs, but use silk threads as a fishing rod, while others dig their homes underground.
These aren’t the only animals that build their own homes. When we delve into the subject, other species – such as the tricopter larva or the fiddler crab – can make our eyes go wide. In nature, a sturdy house can mean the difference between life and death.
