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Why ants were way ahead of us on the solar panel idea

It may not have much in the way of kerb appeal but, as Landward revealed, this pile of earth and twigs is actually a cleverly designed home.

Many of us will have given thought to making our homes more eco-friendly, and the sight of solar panels stuck to roof tops has become increasingly common. But we're not the only species which knows a thing or two about capturing the sun's heat. It seems that the tiny wood ant is something of an expert on reusable energy.

The grand design of a wood ant鈥檚 nest

The intelligent design of the nest makes it a perfect place to live.

Gabrielle Flinn from the RSPB explained that the interior of the wood ants' nest must maintain a temperature of around 30 degrees for their larvae and pupae to grow. To achieve this, the nests are built with a large south facing surface. When the sun comes out, the ants all gather on that surface to absorb the heat before heading back inside to warm up the nest.

And that's not the only clever design in this woodland des res. The ants have also installed an expertly engineered air conditioning system.

"You see holes dotted about on the nest," explained Gabrielle. "Those are entrance holes but also holes for air to flow through, and that means there's no stagnant air forming and it avoids the risk of disease."

"[The nest] is very well constructed. They're good architects."