TERMITES are often vilified as pests, but they are, in fact, some of nature’s finest engineers.

Some species of termites build massive mounds that are self-cooling, almost like in-built air conditioning. These mounds – made of soil, saliva and dung – have an intricate network of tunnels linked to a central chimney. Warm air inside the mound rises and escapes through the chimneys, drawing in fresh waves of cool air.