Architecture is the art of building.Just as humans build various buildings to serve different purposes, many animals do too.Some animals are extremely skilled at building and are known specifically for the amazing things they build. Animals build structures for shelter, food, or even protection. Insects such as honeybees, ants, termites, spiders, and more, and animals such as beavers, bowerbirds, and great apes are considered to be excellent builders. These animals are known as animal architects.If you are enjoying learning all about the most amazing animal architects in the world, then why not check out these fun facts articles about bees’ nests and fun facts about bubble nests here on Kidadl!What is animal architecture?Structures that are built by animals in nature are known as animal architecture.Some examples of animal architecture found in the animal kingdom are wasp and beehives, spider webs, termite mounds, beaver dams, bird nests, and so on. Animal architects have built these structures. These are built in order to protect themselves from predators, provide shelter, or even acquire food at times. For example, birds build their nests as shelter to lay their eggs in. Meanwhile, spiders weave their webs to catch flies, butterflies, and other insects for food.Animal architecture and structures are built just as intricately as human structures. These creations contain functioning ventilation systems, traps, lures, baits, and sometimes even have temperature regulation systems! Their shelters protect them from extreme temperatures and weather and also provide a chamber for reproduction or food storage.Which animal builds its own home?There are many animals on this planet that build their own homes.The most common and well-known animals are birds! Birds build their own nests, which help them lay eggs and protect them from snakes and other larger predators. Isn’t it amazing?Honey bees and wasps build hives to serve as shelter and to protect them from predators. The internal honeycomb tiers have a paper wrapping that surrounds them. Honey bees also use their hive for producing honey and for serving a queen bee. Wasp hives are known as wasp nests and are often avoided by all animals as wasps might sting if they cause harm to the nest.Ants create their own homes, which are most commonly known as ant hills. They carry mud from the hole and drop it off near the entrance. This makes large mounds of dirt near to anthills. Ants mostly use their shelter to store food and protect their queen and their larvae from any predators. Anthills are one of the most intricately built animal structures. They have different rooms for food storage, reproduction, and laying eggs.How do they build their homes?Animal architects take a lot of time, effort, and various materials.Beavers usually like to build their houses near a water body such as a lake or a pond. They use mud, tree branches, shrubs, leaves, and sticks that they chop down with their own teeth to make their houses. Beavers add more sticks, leaves, and mud from nearby trees and water bodies every single year to their house. A beaver makes a sturdy protective layer around its lodge, so much so that only bears can tear them down. Beavers use the mud from the bottom of a lake or pond and scoop it up in their little forelegs!The Vogelkop bowerbird makes a cone-shaped hut as a home. The bird’s name, ‘bower’, refers to a hut-like structure! These birds usually live in colonies, and these colonies are commonly known as ‘butterfly gardens’. The Vogelkop bowerbird uses leaves, flowers, and shiny beetle body parts to decorate the front entrance of its house! The male bowerbirds make these small huts on the ground, which makes them look like small pygmy huts. They use these huts to attract female bowerbirds!Red ovenbirds create their houses on the tops of high tree limbs, tall poles, and light posts. They use mud and dung to do so! The red ovenbird house is often found in the shape of an earthen bowl. Since these are made from mud or dung, when built in higher places, the nest has direct exposure to the sun, so it dries and hardens, making a sturdy shelter for the bird. This also makes a safe place for the birds to lay their eggs.Why do birds build their own nests?Birds mostly build nests to lay their eggs in and keep them safe from potential harm.Some birds like to make their nests high up in the trees so that other animals won’t be able to get to them easily. The leaves and branches also help birds hide their nests easily. A few birds even use leaves, sticks, or twigs to cover up and hide their nests from other animals or humans.Birds, such as the red ovenbird, build nests out of sturdy and strong materials so they are difficult to break and won’t get blown away by harsh winds or heavy rain. A few species form colonies and live together in order to protect and fight any predator that tries to cause harm to their nests and eggs with the help of other birds from their own colony. This also makes foraging for food much easier for these species.Protection is not the only benefit of making a nest. As nests are usually made from natural resources, such as tree branches, sticks, leaves, mud, dung, or twigs, they are excellent incubation chambers. A nest keeps the eggs warm and young baby birds comfortable during times when the adult birds are away.Just like the Vogelkop bowerbird, the baya weaver species makes its nest in order to attract a mate! The dominant male baya weaver bird uses leaves to weave a nest with beautiful patterns and hangs its nest on acacia trees. This yellow bird is usually only seen in and around India and Southeast Asia.Structures Built by AnimalsThe animal world is full of animal architects that build beautiful and efficient living spaces for themselves.Weaver ants from Central Africa and Southeast Asia often built their anthills with the help of leaves and silk!Paper wasps chew on dead trees and plant fiber which turns it into a paste. This paste is then used to shape the walls of their homes! Meanwhile, social wasps make elegant and beautiful paper nests with the help of plant pulp, resin, spit, and other materials found easily in nature.Termites make nurseries for their young and are capable of building tunnels and corridors that create ventilation during the summer! There were large compass termite mounds found recently in northern Australia that demonstrated this.The trapdoor spider uses its spider silk, dirt, vegetation, and saliva to make a door for its silk-lined tube. Believe it or not, they do not live on their webs.Just like the red ovenbird, a number of swallow species also use mud as a building material to build nests! They live in colonies, and their nests are considered to be a delicacy by some people!The sociable weaver bird builds a nest not only for itself but also to invite birds from other species to reside with it! The nest structure looks like a haystack and is often compared to an apartment building that has many rooms in it! A sociable weaver is also capable of building a security system! They attach sharp straw spikes to the entrance of the structure, which helps them evade predators easily!Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our fun animal architect facts, then why not take a look at our other great articles about ant nests or ovenbird facts?
Architecture is the art of building.
