Tiny weaver ants can build a nest thousand times bigger than their bodies.

Asian weaver ants are famous for their unique nest building skills. They build their nests by pulling tree leaves together and connecting them using larval silk. All the materials used are sustainable and unpolluted. 

The construction starts with the selection of a tree branch suitable for their nest. After they find the desired branch, hundreds of ants spread around the leaves and start to pull the leaves together until they can aggregate themselves. 

When the leaves are almost overlapping, it is time for the weaver ant larvae to do the magic! The weaver ants hold the larvae and move them to weavers between the leaves. The larvae then produce silk to glue the leaves together.

Weaver ants' nest building technique could be applied to architectural constructions. As people get sensitized to the impacts of construction materials on the environment, the idea of green development has started becoming popular. Going green is about using environment friendly construction materials. Learning from weaver ants, it is possible to use plants and silk as building materials to reduce pollution.

(Cover image designed by Qu Bo)

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