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CHAPTER 01
CHAPTER 01
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WEAVER ANT / Oecophylla smaragdina The weaver ant gets its name from the process of their nest construction. The ants build their nest by using leaves, folded and fastened together to form enclosed habitats. The construction process starts with a choosing a tree branch which is suitable for the size of the colony. Then the ants spread around the leaves, and pull on the tips and edges of the leaves. Ants aggregate themselves around each other to form chains pulling leaf edges, and attempt to connect or bend the leaves. When the desired shape is achieved, it is secured together. The fastening system used is silk,
produced by the Oecophylla larvae. The major workers hold larvae and move them to weave between leaves. This nest building process is highly dependant on the size of the ant colony, as well as the chosen leaf or branch. A weaver ant nest can be made from one leaf, as well as from connecting two or more of them. The bending direction can be both perpendicular or parallel to the major leaf of the leaf. The rules of weaver ant construction behavior will be analysed further in later chapters.
01_24
01_25
01_26
CONCLUSION The three studied animal types have their own methods of construction. Their task is mainly with the aim to inhabitation, and these animals either roll the leaves or bend them. The means of securing these rolled or bent structures is either by using silk as adhesive or folding and biting certain parts to secure them. Two of the chosen role models achieve their tasks as solitary LEAF-ROLLING CATERPILLAR
FIGURE 01_23: Weaver Ant Nest Building Process. (Source: Rasha Alshami, SabÄŤne Vecvagare, Xun Li)
animals, however weaver ants divide the building assignment between the members of the colony. We found the social building behavior interesting in terms of potential abstraction to architecture scale, and we could see potential for either robotic or construction performance.
LEAF-ROLLING WEEVILS
WEAVER ANTS
HABITAT CONSTRUCTION 1. inspecting (on the leaf) 2. cutting 3. attaching silk 4. folding 5. securing 6. rolling
HABITAT CONSTRUCTION 1. inspecting 2. cutting 3. rolling
HABITAT CONSTRUCTION 1. inspecting 2. forming a pulling chain of ants 3. biting 4. rolling
REASON - protection
REASON - reproduction - protection
REASON - care for offsprings
FACTORS FOR LEAF CHOOSING - initiated cutting through walking around the circumference of the leaf
FACTORS FOR LEAF CHOOSING - size, shape of the leaf - structure of females recognition process
FACTORS FOR LEAF CHOOSING - size, shape of the leaf - protected areas
FIGURE 01_24 - 01_26: Building Process. Weaving, Pulling and Aggregating. (Source: photograph by Mark W. Moffett)