In nature, it is so cool to see how smart animals are with their incredible engineering techniques. Obviously, there are the well known beaver dams and termite mounds, and even less known architecture, like dikes that prairie dogs dig to help prevent floods in their burrows, but do you know of any o…

Interesting, I didn’t know that some aphids were plant-specific. Perhaps ants prefer some aphid species over others for convenience? For my area, it’s the same species of ant farming the same species of aphid.

A time-lapse video of Erodium coiling (not mine). It responds to changes in humidity…

Yes! plants with built-in, spring-loaded :cyclone:“screws” are really mind boggling :face_with_spiral_eyes:

All aphids have range of hosts, there’re species with pretty wide assortment of trees or weeds they use (and different generations will use different ones), but it’s not uncommon for them to use one family, genus or species. You can check those relationships on real examples here: https://bladmineer…

what distinguishes engineering / architecture from the structures that are created within an organism or an organism itself? is it intention? for example: is a coral reef architecture? when ants use their bodies to make bridges and rafts, is that engineering? is a banyan colony architecture? is a…

[image] alderash: Polistes nests For that matter, the perfect hexagons of a honeycomb. What I find really amazing are yellowjacket nests. Essentially cardboard, but made preformed in the shape required – no need for folding or cutting. In order for us to do that (as with cardboard egg carton…

Another great example of landscape-level patterns: the surales, South American wetlands with a repeating mound-and-ditch pattern https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0154269.g001 are the result of giant earthworms (juveniles can be up to 3 feet long). The earthworms eat dirt from the edges of their …

Engineering in Nature

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Engineering in Nature

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