Nature’s Engineers at Work
Nature’s engineers amaze me! One of the most interesting I’ve passed recently are the organ pipe shaped homes of mud daubers.
These solitary wasps build their elongated tube-shaped homes from mud (preferably clay) in a sheltered location. Why would you want a home made from mud built away from wind and rain? These photos were taken under a bypass near Big Creek.
To ensure an enduring structure, they collect mud with just the right consistency near riverbanks or from ground that is consistently damp. Multiple trips are necessary to have enough mud to shape the structure, and this engineer must add new layers before the previous layer dries. Mud is carried in the wasp’s mandibles (mouthparts). Now, are you amazed too?
Wasps undergo metamorphosis during their life cycle. One egg will be laid in each compartment of the tube, filled with paralyzed spiders for the larva to eat as it grows, and then sealed. The mud acts as a shell and will protect the larva from temperature changes, humidity, and parasites. The holes in the nests are where the adults have exited the tubes. These wasps are not aggressive.
The cylinders are approximately the same diameter.
Notice the ridges on the tubes. It increases surface area which promotes even drying and consequently durability.
Human and animal architecture are both on display here.
Watch full screen here. (Turn sound down.)
Make this a multidisciplinary topic by hand building pots with clay.
