HOW are tiny animals like termites able to build north-south-aligned mounds up to 7 metres high? From aardvarks and beavers to yellowjacket wasps, animal architects make remarkable constructions that require “decision”. When, for instance, does a giant golden digger wasp stop digging its burrow and start excavating the terminal chamber? Is it when she feels she has done enough work, or when the burrow is long enough? Hansell, an evolutionary biologist specialising in animal architecture, knows the answers and can tell a good story. Great stuff.
Built by Animals
Oxford University Press
