At Severson Dells Nature Center, about 15 minutes from the heart of Rockford, Illinois, onlookers can observe ants, termites, paper wasps, beavers, muskrat, ground bees, squirrels, caddis flies, ant lions, crayfish, snails, mice, turtles, and birds. Staff writer, Dan Richards, of New York’s magazine Popular Photography in an April 2014 issue stated that, “Animal architecture demonstrates that, as with human habitation, it's all about real estate. As in, location, location, location. Single-family versus multiple dwellings.”
House For a Mouse
The mice native to Illinois are the deer mouse and white-footed mouse (Living With Wildlife in Illinois). These nocturnal creatures set up camp by burrowing and tunnelling (Dunn, 2014). “Deer mice are common in open habitats such as pastures, agricultural fields, and field borders and are sometimes found near buildings. White-footed mice are common in forest edges and may inhabit homes built in or near wooded areas” (Living With Wildlife in Illinois). “Deer mice nest in burrows dug in the ground or construct nests in raised areas such as brush piles, logs, rocks, stumps, under bark, and in hollows in trees. Nests are also constructed in various structures and artifacts including old boards and abandoned vehicles. Nests have been found up to 79 feet (24 m) above the ground in Douglas-fir trees” (Encyclopedia of Life).
Termite Towers
The real masterminds of building are the “social insects” which include structures like “the beehive, the wasp nest, the ant mound, and the termite hill which can look like skyscrapers eight meters tall, domes, pyramids and even crumbly balls suspended in trees” (Dunn 2014). According to Pests.Guru (2017) website, termite towers are made of sand, soil, wood chips and other natural materials that they can get their feelers on and everything is held together by the saliva of the termite workers. Research scientist, Marianne Alleyne from the Department of Entomology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign states that termite towers are constructed with ducts and air pockets to optimize air circulation and moisture (Allyne 2014).
Picture: http://www.enn.com/image_for_articles/41363-1.jpg/medium
Picture:https://www.google.com/search?biw=1366&bih=662&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=termite+habitat+northern+illinois&oq=termite+habitat+northern+illinois&gs_l=psy-ab.3...59006.61965.0.62019.18.9.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..18.0.0.em7morui3GY#imgrc=nBuYiGb8LXpOFM:
Wasp Nests
Bees and wasps alike follow a governmental regime much like a monarchy therefore one might assume that the insect citizens merely take their orders from some chunky crown-bearer when in fact “there is no master plan, just the unconscious actions of many individuals following simple rules that, when acted out in concert, can produce the enormous nests of termites, the cavernous lairs of ants and even the intricate honeycombs of bees” (Dunn, 2014).
According to the Encyclopedia of Insects, “a nest may be defined as any modification of the environment by adult insects that provides shelter for the rearing of their offspring...nests may be very large and architecturally complex and may house the colony for many years under homeostatically controlled physical conditions.” (Jeanna, 2009). Paper wasps, which can be found on the Severson Dells campus, get their name because their structures appear to be made of paper (Orkin). Paper wasps are excellent construction workers because they utilize all of their senses. Do you know any construction workers who use their mouth to gage the consistency of cement? Wasps rely on their antennae and “forelegs to help manipulate” their nests as sensory perception is vital for evaluating the size of their structures. Just as people have jobs so does each insect have a role to play. “The builders regulate the overall rate of activity, for it is they who have direct contact with the construction site and can determine the level of demand for materials. Foragers gain information about demand for their material as they seek builders to unload to” (Jeanna, 2009). The end result is a nest that looks similar to a honeycomb shape cavities that are visible to the human eye as the nests generally do not have an outer shell or covering. In fact, according to the Orkin Man, “[the nest] somewhat resembles an umbrella and is the reason they may be called umbrella wasps.” Additionally, the nests are often built in “sheltered areas, such as door frames, window sills and the eaves of houses” (Orkin). The August of 2016, paper wasps found a home at my own house. Pictures courtesy of myself, Arial Larson, are provided below. Additional permissions provided by Midwest Control of Rockford.
Ground Bees
When we think of bees, we often think of a visible hive hanging from a tree limb when in fact, “only 70% of all the 20,000 species of bees nest underground” (Cornell University, 2017). The well known but endangered hive dwelling bee is the honey bee. Ground bees include alkali bees, bumble bees, leafcutter bees, mining or digger bees and sweat bees (Terminix). The nests of ground bees can still be visible above ground, appearing as piles of dirt with a hole in the center. Some ground bees have a preference to build in “sandy soil” which the terrain around Severson Dells has a lot of. The ground bees make burrows that are “at least 6 inches deep into the earth, and may have vertical, horizontal or slanted tunnels depending on the species” (Terminix). Pictured below is a basic ground hive structure of a mining bee (http://www.bumblebee.org/otherbees.htm)
Picture:https://entomology.cals.cornell.edu/sites/entomology.cals.cornell.edu/files/resize/shared/images/photo%201-250x188.jpg
References
Allyne, M. (2013). The termite mound: A not quite true bioinspiration story. Word Press. Retrieved from https://insectsdiditfirst.com/category/respiration
Animal architects: Structures that shelter, house, and feed animals. (2016) Naturlistoutreach. Youtube. Retreived from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Sc2sOIXhOc&feature=youtu.be
Encyclopedia of Life. Deer mouse [as cited in Sullivan, Janet. 1995. Peromyscus maniculatus. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/ [2017, July 27]. Retrieved from http://eol.org/pages/311573/details#habitat.
Dunn, R. (2014). The evolution of architecture. Scientific American, 311(5). Retreived from the Academic Search Complete database.
Ground bee information (2015). Terminix. Retreived from https://www.terminix.com/pest-control/bees/types/ground.
Ground nesting bees in your backyard (2017). Department of Entomology at Cornell University. Retrieved from https://entomology.cals.cornell.edu/extension/wild-pollinators/native-bees-your-backyard
How do termites build their ‘dwellings?’. Pests Guru: All About Pests on Plants and Home. Retreived from http://pests.guru/termites/mound/how-do-they-do-it.html
Jeanne, R. L. (2009). Nest building. In V. H. Resh, & R. T. Carde (Eds.), Encyclopedia of insects (2nd ed.). Oxford, UK: Elsevier Science & Technology. Retrieved from http://rlrc-proxy.elgin.edu:5000/login?url=http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/estinsects/nest_building/0?institutionId=4078
Larson, A. (2016, Auguest). Facebook post on paper wasps. Retreived from https://www.facebook.com/search/str/Arial%2BLarson%2Bpaper%2Bwasp%2Bnest/keywords_blended_posts?filters_rp_author=%7B%22name%22%3A%22author_friends%22%2C%22args%22%3A%22%22%7D&esd=eyJlc2lkIjoiUzpfSTY5NjAwMzEyOjEwMTAwMjM4MjIwNjgxMzM3IiwicHNpZCI6eyI2OTYwMDMxMjoxMDEwMDIzODIyMDY4MTMzNyI6IlV6cGZTVFk1TmpBd016RXlPakV3TVRBd01qTTRNakl3TmpneE16TTMifSwiY3JjdCI6InRleHQiLCJjc2lkIjoiODhjMTA3NGJjMWJhOTRmYjJkN2ZhOTI1Mjg2ZjhiZDYifQ%3D%3D
Living with wildlife in Illinois. University of Illinois Extension. http://web.extension.illinois.edu/wildlife/directory_show.cfm?species=mice.
Paper wasps. Orkin website. Retreived from https://www.orkin.com/stinging-pests/wasps/paper-wasps
Mining, mason, and carpenter bees. (2017). Retreived from http://www.bumblebee.org/otherbees.htm
Richards, D. (2014). Built by beasts. Popular Photography, 78(4), 60-65. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.elgin.edu:5000/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1509428730?accountid=10715.
