per their size and shape from a large variety. In the case of leaf sections, these are cut and shaped to required size. Similarly bagworms cut and shape thorns or twigs to form their case. Some sphecid wasps collect mud and blend them with water to construct free standing nests of mud. Paper wasp queens build with paper pulp which they prepare by rasping wood with their jaws and mixing with saliva, a case of collecting, processing and blending raw materials. An animal builder may collect a variety of materials and use them in complex ways to form useful habitat. The nest of the long-tailed tit, Aegithalos caudatus, is constructed from four materials – lichen, feathers, spider egg cocoons and moss, over 6000 pieces in all for a typical nest. The nest is a flexible sac with a small, round entrance on top, suspended low in a gorse or bramble bush. The structural stability of the nest is provided by a mesh of moss and spider silk. The tiny leaves of the moss act as hooks and the spider silk of egg cocoons provides the loops; thus forming a natural form of velcro. The tit lines the outside with hundreds of flakes of pale lichens – this provides camouflage. Inside, it lines the nest with more than 2000 feathers to insulate the nest. About the construction of nest by the long-tailed tit, it has been written: Material of animal origin Birds form the majority of the group of animals which collect building material of animal origin. They collect animal fur and feathers of other species of birds to line their nests. Almost 56% of all families of passerine birds have species which utilise spider silk. Most birds use spider silk as in the case of the long-tailed tit, previously discussed; however the little spiderhunter (Arachnothera longirostra) of Asian tropical forests uses spider silk differently. It constructs a nest of plant strips which it suspends below a large leaf using spider silk for about a 150 or so of "pop-rivets". Plant material Flowering plants provide a variety of resources – twigs, leaves, petioles, roots, flowers and seeds. Basal plants, such as lichens, mosses and ferns also find use in structures built by animals. The leaves of grasses and palms being elongate and parallel-veined are very commonly used for building. These, along-with palm fibers and horse-hair fern are used to build hanging