1. The Vogelkop Bowerbird Nest
The Vogelkop Bowerbird has the ability to build itself up a pretty impressive home. Part of the name of the bird, ‘bower,’ comes from the hut-like structure they build, whose front entrance (think of it as a lawn) is adorned with leaves, flowers and shiny parts of the beetle body.
2. Bee Hives
Bees are extremely industrious insects with a remarkable capacity to build — just see their hives! In addition, an American mathematician, Thomas Hales, wrote a proof showing that bee hives are nature’s most powerful structures.
3. Ant Colony
Ants rank among beavers as some of the world’s best-known animal architects. Ants create the intricate colony structure by hollowing out the field, grain by grain, with their mandibles. If the soil rapidly dries out the chambers should maintain their form. Yet how ants construct these well-planned underground structures remains a mystery, according to Walter Tschinkel of F, a former expert Walter Tschinkel of Florida State University.
4. Sociable Weaver Nest
The sociable weaver is constructing a shelter that looks like a giant haystack crashing into a tree from a distance. Yet these African birds are professional builders, building their lofted apartment block using a number of different materials. We use bigger sticks to build the basic structure and place the nest on top of their chosen foundation.
5. Montezuma Oropendola Nests
The birds known as Montezuma oropendola in Central America are constructing intricate hanging nests in trees. We use vines to tie the pendulous baskets together, sorting the nests into colonies. Using the best vines, they tie the nests, adding other vines and fibers bit by bit, before the nests are full.
6. Cathedral Termite Mounds
Termites are Master Constructors. Their famous mounds that exceed 10 feet or more in height — actually the one pictured is around 16 feet tall. Designed from the chewed remains of woody branches, mud, and waste, these animal skyscrapers provide the termite colony with all sorts of creature comforts: superb air conditioning makes it possible to keep the mountain air-conditioned, vapor pools as condensation. So some of the colonies have mushroom gardens within the mound.
7. Rufous Hornero Nest
Some nests of birds are airy twig structures but not this one. A South American species, the rufous hornero builds rare earthen nests in trees. It gathers mud and dung to build a bowl with tree limbs high atop. The sun bakes the nest to build a durable shelter where eggs can be laid by the birds. The nest is also positioned to fend off the prevailing winds, providing shelter from the weather.
8. Prairie Dog Towns
Prairie dogs dig their houses, digging burrows out from the earth. Since prairie dogs exist mainly in North America’s Great Plains and have significant weather fluctuations from season to season, their houses are designed to survive extreme temperatures, flooding, and fires.
9. Leaf Curling Spider Web
Of example, plenty of spiders make webs, but the Australian leaf-curling spider (Phonognatha graeffei) makes use of discarded material to create an extension to their home. It selects a nice dead leaf and lines the leaf with silk, curling it to create a comfortable refuge that is closed at the top and opened at the bottom.
10. Beaver Dam
Yeah, beavers are probably the best-known builders of nature, and understandably so. They fall massive trees to construct lakes that they maintain and then construct ponds where they would establish their winter homes or lodges. What you do not learn though is that these animals are also experts at weatherproofing besides being master woodworkers.
