Publication . Pinto, Jorge; Ginja, Mário; Nepomuceno, Miguel C. S.; Pereira, Sandra
The Asian Wasp Nest (AWN) is an impressive and robust natural construction built by an insect. The building process occurs during spring and summer. This type of nest is not reused. The scale size between the Asian wasp and the AWN is substantial. In Portugal, we can find AWN on trees, roofs, balconies, chimneys, and other possibilities. When the AWN is built on trees, the tree's branches work as support. The complexity of this natural construction in terms of shape motivated this research work. Therefore, an AWN sample was used in order to obtain some information concerning this technical aspect. In this context, X-ray tests were performed to give guidance about the internal structure of the AWN without damaging it. The obtained experimental results show the richness of this type of construction. Understating the AWN may guide new building processes, different structural shapes, alternative natural building materials, and passive building technics, among other constructive fields.
