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Animal Architecture
Examines the behavior and characteristics of arthropods and vertebrates with sophisticated architectural skills
306 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1974
About the author
Karl von Frisch
73 books20 followersKarl Ritter von Frisch (20 November 1886 – 12 June 1982) was an Austrian ethologist who received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1973, along with Nikolaas Tinbergen and Konrad Lorenz.
His work centered on investigations of the sensory perceptions of the honey bee and he was one of the first to translate the meaning of the waggle dance. His theory was disputed by other scientists and greeted with skepticism at the time. Only recently was it definitively proved to be an accurate theoretical analysis.
His work centered on investigations of the sensory perceptions of the honey bee and he was one of the first to translate the meaning of the waggle dance. His theory was disputed by other scientists and greeted with skepticism at the time. Only recently was it definitively proved to be an accurate theoretical analysis.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 14, 2022
Karl von Frisch was a German-Austrian ethologist who received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1973, along with Nikolaas Tinbergen and Konrad Lorenz. Tinbergen and Lorenz were (perhaps still are) about the biggest names in ethology (the study of animal behavior), so even as Nobel Prizes go, that's some pretty heady company. This book is copyright 1974, so I suppose it was written in the very year he was getting a Nobel Prize. It does not appear to have given him a big head; the tone is entirely focused on the animals, not the author. von Frisch was apparently the sort of person who found animal behavior more fascinating to discuss than himself, and since most people like no topic so well as themselves, this perhaps helps explain why he became an ethologist.
If you are the sort of person who is more interested in people-watching than watching other species, this book may not work for you, but if you have interest in just about any other animal species there is probaby something here you will like, because it has a broad scope. Some are the obvious 'animal architects', like bees and ants, beaver, various nest building birds, and so forth. Some are considerably less obvious. For example, frogs that build a nest for their eggs out of their foamy spit; one species of African tree frog lays eggs in such a nest, and in order to keep them from drying out she must periodically return to the nest and urinate on it. There is a Brazilian tree frog which builds clay nests in trees. There is a fish called the sand goby, off the coast of France, which uses an overturned bivalve shell on top of a dugout depression in the sand. The males create these nurseries, and then show them off to prospective mates. Sand goby mothers are not very caring parents; they shoot their eggs into a suitable looking nursery (or perhaps it was the male that created it that was suitable looking), and then depart, their work done. The male (after fertilizing the eggs) will stay and guard them until they hatch. Stickleback fish go further, making nests out of plant material that resemble birdnests. There are also microscopic master builders, of course, chief among them the polyps that create coral.
But of course, the masters here are termites. Their architecture is often taller than a human, oriented to the sun to optimize heating and cooling at different times of day, and hard as rock. First place for style must go to the bower birds, whose art installations (not exactly nests, but more like "lovenests", since mating happens in them but the eggs are laid elsewhere) are all brightly colored, and each unique. Artists make, and great artists steal, so bower birds are great artists, since the males often steal especially brightly colored pieces from each other's bowers. Imagine if human males endeavored to attract a mate by trying to create the most elaborate and eye-catching art installation. Every woman that came by would be carefully observed, from hiding, as she inspected the artwork; if she was impressed, she might slip into the back room for a personal meeting with the artist.
The book covers all of these many animal architects with both well-written text and copious, copious visuals. Drawings, and no small number of color plates, are at least as important here as the text (although the two mesh together well). Animals have been modifying their surroundings to suit themselves (or their offspring) for a long, long, long time, and it is worth taking a look at the many ways they have found to do it.
If you are the sort of person who is more interested in people-watching than watching other species, this book may not work for you, but if you have interest in just about any other animal species there is probaby something here you will like, because it has a broad scope. Some are the obvious 'animal architects', like bees and ants, beaver, various nest building birds, and so forth. Some are considerably less obvious. For example, frogs that build a nest for their eggs out of their foamy spit; one species of African tree frog lays eggs in such a nest, and in order to keep them from drying out she must periodically return to the nest and urinate on it. There is a Brazilian tree frog which builds clay nests in trees. There is a fish called the sand goby, off the coast of France, which uses an overturned bivalve shell on top of a dugout depression in the sand. The males create these nurseries, and then show them off to prospective mates. Sand goby mothers are not very caring parents; they shoot their eggs into a suitable looking nursery (or perhaps it was the male that created it that was suitable looking), and then depart, their work done. The male (after fertilizing the eggs) will stay and guard them until they hatch. Stickleback fish go further, making nests out of plant material that resemble birdnests. There are also microscopic master builders, of course, chief among them the polyps that create coral.
But of course, the masters here are termites. Their architecture is often taller than a human, oriented to the sun to optimize heating and cooling at different times of day, and hard as rock. First place for style must go to the bower birds, whose art installations (not exactly nests, but more like "lovenests", since mating happens in them but the eggs are laid elsewhere) are all brightly colored, and each unique. Artists make, and great artists steal, so bower birds are great artists, since the males often steal especially brightly colored pieces from each other's bowers. Imagine if human males endeavored to attract a mate by trying to create the most elaborate and eye-catching art installation. Every woman that came by would be carefully observed, from hiding, as she inspected the artwork; if she was impressed, she might slip into the back room for a personal meeting with the artist.
The book covers all of these many animal architects with both well-written text and copious, copious visuals. Drawings, and no small number of color plates, are at least as important here as the text (although the two mesh together well). Animals have been modifying their surroundings to suit themselves (or their offspring) for a long, long, long time, and it is worth taking a look at the many ways they have found to do it.
April 2, 2014
A really fun read by someone of high repute in the Biology world. This is very accessible; anyone could read and enjoy it. It reminded me of watching a nature documentary where you travel from a spider who is spinning a web in one part of the world to a honeybee hive to a beaver dam to a Bird of Paradise nest. This is about the different structures that animals build. The vast majority of the book is focused on Arthropods (mostly Hymenoptera and Isoptera) and Birds, although a few other groups are mentioned in brief. I loved reading it!
March 29, 2022
2021 was the year when I read two of the most enjoyable books of my life - this and Conversations with Ogotemmeli. I just read five pages at a time. A must for Gibsonian, ecological, and FEP advocates of cognitive science to think about the affordances inherent to nature.
June 9, 2010
Wonderful, conversational discussion of animal architecture. Old school, but enjoyable.
July 12, 2026
The author, von Frisch provides an extensive overview of the various constructions undertaken by animals, from single-celled organisms to the apes.
Some of the simplest animals build: the protozoan Difflugia uses indigestible particles to build a case around itself. The foraminifers, radiolaria, corals, snails produce a variety of shells. The fishes deserve a mention, with the jawfish highlighted. The birds are major builders, but the megapods are champions with the scrub fowl producing nests as large as 12 m across and 5 m high.
Much content is devoted to the bees and the termites and the details of how they actually construct their nests. The detail on how the bees built the cells is something that is rarely encountered in more modern literature. The bee's head senses gravity and then drives the orientation of the comb. Further, the bee senses the thickness of the cell walls by depressing them with its mandibles and sensing the rebound movement with its antennae. If the tips of the antennae are removed, the ability to build to the correct thickness is lost.
Throughout the book, von Frisch maintains a higher level perspective of how each animals efforts fit into the whole. This paragraph is illustrative:
"Bees differ from the predacious wasps in one important particular: they are strictly vegetarian, feeding themselves and their brood on pollen and nectar. This habit endears them to kindhearted people, for they do not destroy in order to live. Moreover, their mode of feeding makes them an important life-enhancing force in nature's house-hold. Flitting from flower to flower, they unconsciously act as plant breeders. By transferring pollen from one blossom to the next, they bring about fertilization and promote the setting of fruits and seed. Mutual adaptation between bees and flowers over millions of years has been largely responsible for the present advanced development of the fragrance of flowers and the splendor of their colors. For the greater the flowers' appeal to the senses of smell and vision, the easier it is for the insects to find them, and the better the chance of their pollination and propagation."
The author shows how the processes of construction are hard-wired. Where a construction is multi-step, it can be shown that interruption causes the animal to start the entire process over again rather than proceeding from the failed step. The animals are driven by instincts that have evolved over time.
Some of the simplest animals build: the protozoan Difflugia uses indigestible particles to build a case around itself. The foraminifers, radiolaria, corals, snails produce a variety of shells. The fishes deserve a mention, with the jawfish highlighted. The birds are major builders, but the megapods are champions with the scrub fowl producing nests as large as 12 m across and 5 m high.
Much content is devoted to the bees and the termites and the details of how they actually construct their nests. The detail on how the bees built the cells is something that is rarely encountered in more modern literature. The bee's head senses gravity and then drives the orientation of the comb. Further, the bee senses the thickness of the cell walls by depressing them with its mandibles and sensing the rebound movement with its antennae. If the tips of the antennae are removed, the ability to build to the correct thickness is lost.
Throughout the book, von Frisch maintains a higher level perspective of how each animals efforts fit into the whole. This paragraph is illustrative:
"Bees differ from the predacious wasps in one important particular: they are strictly vegetarian, feeding themselves and their brood on pollen and nectar. This habit endears them to kindhearted people, for they do not destroy in order to live. Moreover, their mode of feeding makes them an important life-enhancing force in nature's house-hold. Flitting from flower to flower, they unconsciously act as plant breeders. By transferring pollen from one blossom to the next, they bring about fertilization and promote the setting of fruits and seed. Mutual adaptation between bees and flowers over millions of years has been largely responsible for the present advanced development of the fragrance of flowers and the splendor of their colors. For the greater the flowers' appeal to the senses of smell and vision, the easier it is for the insects to find them, and the better the chance of their pollination and propagation."
The author shows how the processes of construction are hard-wired. Where a construction is multi-step, it can be shown that interruption causes the animal to start the entire process over again rather than proceeding from the failed step. The animals are driven by instincts that have evolved over time.
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July 28, 2024Recommended by Merlin Sheldrake
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews