“Insects, worms, and other small animals that carry out vital functions for life on earth have declined by 45 percent average over 35 years, threatening human, water quality and food supplies…”
– Steve Connor, “Vital invertebrates decline 45 percent, study finds,” independent.co.uk, July 2014
In recent years, bug and insect populations have been on a rapid decline. More often than not, due to human actions. In hopes of mitigating these actions, I present to you, HIVE. A subterranean colony inspired, bug hotel.
Hive is a safe and cozy habitat for insects, that also allows for people to view the inhabitants without disturbing them, thanks to acrylic viewing windows.
Although there are many different bugs that could inhabit HIVE, I designed the passageways with ants and bees in mind.
By utilizing a CNC router I was able to accurately create all the plywood and plastic parts in an economical amount of time. The high level of precision attainable from using cnc machine technology also aids in assembly as everything fits together perfectly, and therefore requires less manual sanding and finishing. After the leaf halves were glued together, and all outside edges were sanded smooth. I drilled the .625 dia. dowel holes in the leaves and driftwood base with a manual drill press. Lastly, I treated only the outsides of the leaves with a light stain.
One Step Backwards Can Result In Two Steps Forward. Don’t Fear Change!
Setbacks and pitfalls often occur over the course of a project. If you get lucky, sometimes those challenges can foster alternative ideas, which result in a better overall outcome than was originally expected.
In deciding to change my central base design, despite having finished sanding and staining the log, I ended up arriving at an idea that in the long run was faster than finishing out my original plan, but was also far more appealing. The importance of being open to change, and not getting too attached to a certain idea cannot be stressed enough.
As stated earlier, HIVE is heavily influenced from the beautiful, and complex subterranean tunnel systems that ants and other colony type species create. My goal was to bring some of the unseen natural beauty that lies beneath us, and bring it to the surface, for all to enjoy. An opportunity to view another world without having to disturb it.
Thank you for your time and interest in my creation!
-Aaron