How paper wasps and hornets build their nests to handle the Taiwanese climate
How paper wasps and hornets build their nests to handle the Taiwanese climate
2022-08-29
Taiwan’s summers are baking, and although some buildings can stand the heat, not all of us live in homes fit for rising temperatures. Today we take a look at how nature manages the heat problem. Taiwan’s wasps and hornets are perfectly adapted to deal with changing temperatures. Their nests are built to fit perfectly into the environment here. We spoke to experts from the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute to find out more.
Chao Jung-tai
Taiwan Forestry Research Institute
This is a paper wasp nest. They use their mandibles to strip fibers from plants and bring them back to build their nests with. Just like we use cement, they stick the fibers on, layer upon layer. They can only bring so much material back in one go. And sometimes because they bring back fibers of different places, the colors of those fibers vary.
Compared to paper wasps, hornets build extremely intricate nests. They build many dense layers on the top of the nest and leave just one entrance at the bottom.
Lu Sheng-shan
Taiwan Forestry Research Institute
The casing of the hornets’ nest has many, many layers, and there is space between each layer. So it is extremely good insulation. If the nest gets too hot inside, the hornets flap their wings to circulate the air, and they may even go outside to get water and bring it back to spray inside the nest.
If the nest gets too cold inside, the hornets vibrate their abdomens to heat the nest up again. Perhaps most amazing is the way they build each cell of the nest in a perfect hexagon. That’s the most efficient shape for maximising volume which you can find in nature. Who would have thought that hornets would have such a good grasp on geometry, as well as thermal dynamics? Perhaps that’s why they’re known as nature’s master architects.
大自然的建築師！長腳蜂、虎頭蜂築巢大解秘
2022-08-29
夏日炎炎，普遍都市裡的群眾都喜歡窩在家中吹冷氣，然而森林裡，一棟棟完整的六角型住宅透過精密的構造對抗嚴夏，原來虎頭蜂巢穴層層之間都是空氣，具有良好的絕緣效果，因此溫度過高，虎頭蜂就會振動起翅膀搧風，甚至取水灑至巢穴內。一分耕耘一分收獲，多虧野蜂對巢室的建築，絕緣了這次熱浪的侵襲。
[[林試所森林保護組趙榮台]]
“這是長腳蜂窩，長腳蜂利用大顎去刮取植物的纖維回來築窩，就像我們在糊水泥這樣，一層一層的糊上去，每一次帶回來的材料有限，也有可能隨著不同的植物，它的植物纖維顏色是不一樣的”
不同於長腳蜂，虎頭蜂的巢複雜多了，他們會將外頭層層包覆，只在底部留一個開口。
[[林試所森林保護組副研究員陸聲山]]
“虎頭蜂的外殼有很多很多的層，層跟層之間是空氣，所以它有非常好的絕緣的效果，如果巢內的溫度太高，虎頭蜂就會振翅搧風，甚至於會到外面取水灑在巢內。”
一旦巢內溫度過低，虎頭蜂就會振動胸肌，讓熱散出來，提升巢內溫度，鬼斧神工的還包括每個巢室蓋成正六角形，因為這是自然界中，體積最小、容積最大的形狀，蜂類蓋房子，不但擁有驚人的幾何學能力，還有熱力學概念，難怪被譽為大自然界的建築師。
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