Changing Nature: Animals That Build Their Own Homes

Anyone interested in zoology has certainly come across animals that can build extraordinary homes for themselves. The animals that build their own homes have decided that the best way to adapt to their environments is to make their environments adapt to them.

Beavers

Beavers are nature’s lumberjacks due to their large teeth, capable of chopping down entire branches and trees. They use these chunks of wood to build dams in rivers and streams. Blocking the flow of water, beavers create ponds upon which they build their dome-shaped homes. Their beaver lodges, which rest in the water to protect them from predators that cannot swim, include materials like mud, rocks, twigs, and sticks.

Honey Bees

Honey bees are born organizers. They come into the world with predetermined roles and missions, each of them prepared to do whatever it takes to build a hive. While the queen lays thousands of eggs a day, her worker bees collect pollen and nectar so they can make honey. During the honey-making process, which involves passing nectar through the mouths of multiple worker bees, a wax substance builds along their abdomens. This is the first step in how honey bees build honeycomb.

Bees use this wax to build the intricate inner world of their hives. Their work sections the wax into hexagons, upon which they lay their eggs and store their honey. These are the glorious honeycombs that amaze beekeepers and scientists alike.

Sociable Weaver Birds

Everyone knows birds build nests. But did you know there is a certain bird that builds a nest not just for themselves and their eggs but also for lots of other bird families and species? The sociable weaver bird builds nests that look like haystacks. They can be up to nine feet high and 18 feet wide. These natural marvels can house more than 200 birds at one time.

Cathedral Termites

Among the animals that build their own homes, the tiny cathedral termites can create houses, or mounds, that reach 16 feet high and last for over 100 years. Each mound contains one queen and over 1 million termites. In each mound, they farm homemade fungus so they can always have access to food.