Nesting aid for insects and greening system for planting building facades

Abstract

Nesting aid (1) for insects (10) in the form of a mesh mat (2), characterized in that the mesh mat (2) is made of interwoven or braided tubes (3, 4).

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a nesting aid for insects in the form of a mesh mat according to the preamble of claim 1, the use of the inventive nesting aid for insects in a greening system for facades according to claim 10, and a greening system for planting building facades with the inventive nesting aid, with at least one fleece, in particular in the form of a fleece mat and with at least one rainwater system according to claim 11. DESCRIPTION OF THE STATE OF THE TECHNOLOGY AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The invention aims to create an artificially constructed nesting and overwintering aid for insects. Such nesting and overwintering aids for insects are commonly known as "insect hotels." Insect hotels come in various sizes and with different features. They are mostly designed to attract insects that are beneficial from a gardener's perspective. The variety of designs includes small, creative individual structures as well as large, often wall-like, prefabricated kits, usually offered by manufacturers, which resemble nesting boxes and birdhouses. Insect nesting aids or insect hotels are installed to compensate for habitat destruction and also serve educational and research purposes. The known insect nesting aids consist almost exclusively of natural materials such as hardwood, wooden blocks, wood wool, straw, reeds, bamboo canes, brushwood, and also clay.Furthermore, metals and other materials can be used for fastenings, as weather protection, or as tensioned wire mesh to protect against birds. Common components of insect nesting aids are untreated hardwood blocks with drilled blind holes. The blind holes are intended to imitate beetle feeding galleries in deadwood. Sufficient drilling depth of the blind holes is crucial to ensure that there is no risk of injury to insects and that the artificially created feeding galleries are actually used by insects. In addition, the entrance openings of the drilled holes must be smooth and, if necessary, sanded. Different drill diameters are suitable for different insects, so diameters between 2 and 10 millimeters are typically used. Another common component of insect nesting aids is cut plant stems, e.g.,...Reeds are used because insects in nature also use plant stems as shelter and nesting sites. For the plant stems to be accepted, the same criteria regarding diameter, length, and processing should be applied as for hardwood boreholes. It is also advantageous to seal any opening in the plant stems.

[0003] Nesting aids used in current technology therefore have numerous disadvantages. In particular, nesting aids made of softwood and with poorly drilled holes are unsuitable, as the insects' wings can be damaged by sharp wood splinters. Drilled holes in fresh, i.e., unseasoned, wood discs can also kill the offspring if drying cracks form, opening the sealed brood chambers. Nesting aids with excessively large diameters of plant stems or drilled holes are also unsuitable. In some cases, the weather protection of known nesting aids is insufficient, allowing moisture and fungi to penetrate from the outside, which can cause larvae to die from fungal infestation before hatching.

[0004] Furthermore, to ensure that insect nesting aids are accepted not only by insects but also by humans, especially in urban and industrial areas, an appealing visual appearance is required. Disclosure of the invention

[0005] The object of the invention is to improve, at least partially, insect nesting aids known from the prior art. In particular, the object of the present invention is to provide new materials for the construction of an insect nesting aid and to provide the insects with a habitat that meets all their needs with regard to food supply and optimal climate control within the insect nesting aid.

[0006] The foregoing problem is solved by a nesting aid for insects in the form of a mesh mat, according to the preamble of claim 1, by the use of the inventive nesting aid for insects in a greening system for facades with the features of claim 10, and by a greening system for planting building facades with the features of claim 11.

[0007] Further advantages, features and details which may be essential to the invention will be revealed in the dependent claims, the description and the drawings.

[0008] The inventive nesting aid for insects in the form of a grid mat includes the technical teaching that the grid mat is designed from interwoven or braided tubes.

[0009] In contrast to known nesting aids using natural products, which require extensive preparation for use as nesting aids—such as drilling blind holes or carefully sealing continuous plant stems to prevent injury to the insects—and which weather over time, the nesting aid according to the invention is formed from interwoven or braided tubes in the form of a mesh mat. Since the tubes are advantageously designed as industrially manufactured metal tubes, it can be ensured that neither wood splinters can injure insect wings nor that drying cracks can form, which would lead to the opening of the brood chambers created by the insects.Due to the weaving or interlacing of the tubes to form a grid mat, the openings in the nesting aid according to the invention are arranged laterally or upwards and downwards, unlike the orientation of the openings in nesting aids known from the prior art. Particularly in urban or industrial areas, the laterally arranged upwards and downwards openings, or the grid mat formed from the tubes, which serves as a nesting aid for insects, do not adversely affect the cityscape or industrial architecture.

[0010] Preferably, the metal tubes woven or braided to form the mesh mat are made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy. Aluminum is particularly suitable due to its physical, thermal, and chemical properties, with its lack of corrosion being especially advantageous for the longevity of the insect nesting aid according to the invention. Furthermore, the silver-gray oxide layer of the aluminum tube mesh mat allows the nesting aid according to the invention to be attractively integrated into industrial or urban landscapes.

[0011] Advantageously, the insect nesting aid according to the invention, in the form of a mesh mat, can also be used for greening facades. The possibility of greening the nesting aid according to the invention allows for the provision of a habitat for insects that meets the requirements for food supply and climate control. In addition to creating a new habitat for insects, birds, reptiles, and other insectivorous animals will subsequently colonize the newly created habitat or artificial habitat provided by the nesting aid and its greening.

[0012] A further aspect of the present invention is the use of the nesting aid according to the invention in a greening system for facades and, additionally, a greening system for planting building facades. Facade greening has been known since the Middle Ages, when ivy and other climbing plants were specifically planted as vegetation for building facades. To this day, the concept of facade greening has continued to develop and become more professional, with green facades now playing an important role in sustainable urban and industrial development and contributing to improving the quality of life in urban and industrial environments. In contemporary architecture and urban planning, facade greening no longer includes only ivy, but rather a variety of plant species and a multitude of different systems specifically designed for integration into building facades.These systems enable the efficient greening of facades and offer a range of ecological, social, and economic benefits. Green facades are therefore an important component of sustainable urban development today, contributing to mitigating the effects of climate change in urban areas, increasing quality of life, and promoting urban biodiversity. While insects can colonize existing facade greening systems, these systems do not meet the requirements of insect nesting aids, as they lack structures that, for example, mimic the feeding galleries of beetles in deadwood. Therefore, existing facade greening systems are only suitable as a food source or temporary refuge for insects.In order to create a habitat for insects using the familiar facade greening methods, in which the insects can permanently settle, insect hotels would also have to be set up to serve as breeding chambers for the insects.

[0013] In contrast, the use of the nesting aid according to the invention in the greening system for facades is suitable as a permanent habitat for insects. The nesting aid according to the invention, or the greening system with integrated nesting aid, is particularly preferred for greening industrial buildings and gymnasiums, or more generally for greening building facades, in order to blend them with nature and, even more advantageously, to bring nature back into industrial and urban areas in the form of habitats for fauna and flora. With the nesting aid according to the invention, which can advantageously be attached to the facades in the form of at least one grid mat made of woven or braided tubes, covering the entire facade surface, plants, in addition to insects, can use the grid structure as a climbing aid to grow vertically and horizontally.

[0014] The only known system for greening facades is not comparable to the greening system according to the invention, which includes nesting aids for insects. In the competitor's known system, wire ropes are simply stretched vertically along the facade, serving as climbing aids for plants. These wire ropes are stretched from bottom to top at intervals of approximately 2 meters, and the plants simply climb upwards along them.

[0015] To further improve the growing conditions for the plants, namely to further support their attachment to the mesh mat, a fleece mat can be arranged or mounted on the back of the mesh mat, which faces the facade wall, into which the plants can grow. Since the mesh mat with the attached fleece mat, hereinafter also referred to as the mesh fleece, is advantageously attached to the building or facade at a distance of 40 mm to 100 mm, and particularly preferably at a distance of 60 mm to 80 mm relative to the facade wall, a closed air layer is created between the facade and the mesh fleece. This offers the following advantages for the building greened using the inventive nesting aid as a greening system: - Sound insulation; - Thermal insulation (energy savings in winter); - cooler climate in summer (natural air conditioning) in the building and in the surrounding area; - Climate protection, plants filter carbon dioxide (CO₂) 2 ) from the air and store it as carbon; - the building is no longer heated by the sun (reduces global warming); - a new habitat for fauna and flora is being created; - Thanks to an integrated rainwater irrigation system, ideally with a rainwater storage tank, the plants can thrive even in summer without external irrigation and do not dry out.

[0016] Profiles are advantageous for attaching the mesh mat or mesh fleece. These profiles can be attached to the building, and particularly to the building's facade. The profiles allow for adjusting the distance between the mesh mat or fleece and the facade, creating a natural airlock. This provides climate control benefits for the building in both summer and winter. Alternatively, the mesh mat or fleece can be suspended from threaded rods or other fasteners, such as screws or hooks, embedded in the facade. When using threaded rods, the mesh mat is advantageously clamped between two nuts screwed onto the rod, each with a washer between the nuts.The threaded rods or other fasteners are preferably inserted into the supporting structures of the building behind the facade, with the threaded rods or other fasteners extending through the facade, i.e., passing through the facade to be attached to the supporting structure of the building. The use of threaded rods offers the advantage that the distance between the mesh or mesh fabric and the facade wall can be individually adjusted and, if necessary, readjusted.

[0017] The fleece, as an integral component of the mesh fleece, and the plants climbing over it advantageously fulfill the properties of thermal insulation, cooling (a "natural air conditioning" effect), and sound insulation, and also serve environmental protection for the aforementioned reasons. The plants intended for planting can advantageously be planted in the ground, but also in containers or on paving stones in front of the mesh mat of the nesting aid according to the invention, which is attached to the facade. Other plants, such as epiphytes or lithophytic plants with aerial roots, can be tied directly to the mesh mat above ground level. The mesh fleece is also suitable for the colonization of succulents and other plants whose roots can be directly attached to the fleece.Furthermore, the greening system according to the invention can fulfill the new requirements for building applications for industrial buildings, which in particular prescribe a percentage share for the planting of the facades.

[0018] Finally, another aspect of the invention is a method for creating a habitat for flora and fauna using the inventive nesting aid for insects and / or using the inventive greening system, wherein a grid of woven or braided tubes is backed with a fleece and the resulting grid fleece is mounted on the facades for cladding building facades.

[0019] In order to avoid repetitions regarding the advantages of using the insect nesting aid according to the invention in a greening system, regarding the advantages of the greening system according to the invention, or regarding the method for creating a habitat for flora and fauna, reference is made to the description of the advantageous embodiments of the insect nesting aid according to the invention, and full use is made of the disclosure provided by this description, and vice versa.

[0020] Preferred embodiments: Further measures improving the invention are described in more detail below with reference to the figures and preferred embodiments of the invention. The features mentioned in the claims and in the description can be essential to the invention individually or in any combination. It should be noted that the embodiments shown in the figures are for descriptive purposes only and are not intended to limit the invention in any way.

[0021] They show: Fig. 1 In a top view from the front, a mesh mat made of interwoven tubes, which serves as a nesting aid for insects; Fig. 2 the nesting aid made of interwoven tubes in the form of a grid mat made of Fig. 1 in a top view of the front face; Fig. 3 the mesh mat made of interwoven tubes from the previous figures with a fleece center arranged on the back of the mesh mat to form a mesh fleece in a top view from the front of the mesh mat; Fig. 4 the mesh fleece from the Fig. 3 in a top view of the front face; and Fig. 5 The mesh fleece from the previous figures, which is installed as a nesting aid and as a greening system on the facade of a building, in a cross-sectional view from above through a building facade.

[0022] In the different figures, identical parts are always marked with the same reference symbols, which is why they are usually only described once.

[0023] Fig. Figure 1 shows a frontal view of a mesh mat 2 constructed from interwoven tubes 3 and 4, forming a flat structure. This mat serves as a nesting aid 1 for insects 10 and as a climbing aid 5 for plants on buildings. The vertically oriented tubes 3 are intersected at right angles with the horizontally oriented tubes 4, with the tubes 3 and 4 alternating between one above and one below the other to form the mesh mat 2. The tubes 3 or 4 form the support structure for the mesh mat 2, into which the tubes 4 or 3 are successively inserted from one edge of the mesh mat 2 to the other, across the entire width of the weave. This weaving technique with interwoven tubes 3 and 4 creates a mesh mat 2 in the form of a woven fabric. The open ends 3.1 and 4.1 of the tubes 3 and 4 serve as entry points for insects. The open ends 3.1 and 4.1 of the tubes 3 and 4 are smoothly machined and, if necessary, have been reground.Tubes 3 and 4 themselves serve as artificially created feeding tunnels for the insects, with sufficient drilling depth ensured by the interwoven nature of the tubes. The interwoven tubes 3 and 4 have a rod diameter of 8 mm to 12 mm. In the figure, tubes 3 and 4 have the same rod diameter. However, a combination of tubes 3 and 4 with different rod diameters is also conceivable. This means that the tubes 3 can have different rod diameters, or the tubes 4 can have different rod diameters, or the tubes 3 and 4 can have different rod diameters. Furthermore, the interwoven tubes 3 and 4 can have a rod wall thickness of 0.8 mm to 1.2 mm. In the figure, tubes 3 and 4 have the same rod wall thickness. However, a combination of tubes 3 and 4 with different rod wall thicknesses is also conceivable.This means that the tubes 3 can have different wall thicknesses, or the tubes 4 can have different wall thicknesses, or the tubes 3 and 4 can have different wall thicknesses. The variation in rod diameters and wall thicknesses allows for a multitude of different tube diameters and openings 3.1 and 4.1 of the tubes 3 and 4, so that the nesting aid according to the invention can be designed to accommodate a large number of different insects. In other words, the composition of the desired insect population can be pre-selected by choosing the tube diameters and the openings 3.1 and 4.1. The horizontally and vertically spaced and interwoven tubes 3 and 4 allow for a mesh size of the grid mat 2 ranging from 45 mm x 45 mm to 51 mm x 51 mm, plus or minus a tolerance of 2.0 mm.

[0024] Fig. Figure 2 shows the grid mat 2 made of interwoven tubes 3 and 4. Fig. 1 in a top view of the front face, in which Fig. 1 is the front face, the upper side of the mesh mat 2. As can be clearly seen in the figure, the mesh mat 2 is manufactured in the form of a woven fabric with intersecting tubes 3 and 4. The openings 3.1 and 4.1 have the same diameters due to the identical rod diameters and wall thicknesses of the tubes 3 and 4. The illustrated mesh mat 2, in the form of the inventive nesting aid 1 for insects 10, is suitable not only as a nesting aid 1 but also as a climbing aid 5 for greening building facades 110. This offers the advantage over the prior art wire ropes, which serve only as vertical climbing aids for plants, that the mesh mat 2 supports both the vertical and horizontal growth of the plants. This allows for faster greening of a facade 110 and also reduces the number of plants required compared to the known facade greening system 110.

[0025] Fig. Figure 3 shows a mesh fleece 20, formed from the mesh mat 2 and a fleece 6, in a top view from the front of the mesh mat 2. The fleece 6, in the form of a flat structure, is placed behind the mesh mat 2 and mounted to it (the fastening elements are not shown in the figure). Advantageously, the fleece 6 can be bonded to the mesh mat 2 by means of a material bond, for example by gluing or by a thermally activated bond. However, other fastening methods are also conceivable, such as at least a force-fit connection between the fleece 6 and the mesh mat 2, for example by means of cable ties or other fastening elements that are attached between the mesh mat 2 and the fleece 6, by means of which the fleece 6 is mounted to the mesh mat 2.The nesting aid 1 for insects 10, designed as a mesh fleece 20, can be used in a greening system 100 for planting building facades 110, as in the . Fig. Figure 5 illustrates the advantages for buildings 120 and the climate mentioned in the description. The colonization of the greening system 100 with insects 10, specifically by the insects nesting in the mesh fleece 10, creates an artificial habitat, providing not only insects 10 but also their predators, such as birds or reptiles, with a new habitat in industrial or urban areas.

[0026] In the Fig. 4 is the mesh fleece 20 from the Fig. Figure 3 shows a top view of the front face. The nonwoven layer 6, arranged below the mesh mat 2 in the figure, in the form of a nonwoven mat 6.1 as a planar structure, lies in the installed state on a building facade 110 between the building facade 110 and the mesh mat 2, whereby an air layer forms between the mesh fleece 20 and the building facade 110, which serves for the air conditioning of the building 120.

[0027] As finally in the Fig.As shown in Figure 5, the distance between the mesh fleece 20 and the facade 110 of a building 120 can be adjusted by means of profiles 130 of varying lengths or by means of telescopic profiles 130. The profiles 130 are attached to the facade 110, and, as shown, the mesh fleece 20 is inserted between the two profiles 130 in a rail 135 formed in each of the profiles 130. For large facade areas, additional support elements can be provided alongside the profiles 130, which are attached to the facade 110 between the profiles 130 (not shown in the figure). The air volume enclosed between the nesting aid 1 and / or the greening system 100 and the profiles 130 can be adjusted by the distance set by the profiles 130 between the fleece and the facade 110 or between the mesh fleece 20 and the facade 110. The fleece mat 6.1 or the fleece 6 should be arranged at a distance of 40 mm to 100 mm from the facade, advantageously at a distance of 70 mm. The mesh mat 2 shown in the figures is advantageously made of tubes 3 and 4 made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy.

[0028] For the purposes of the present invention, “facades” or “building facades” are understood to mean both wall surfaces and roof surfaces of buildings, in particular of industrial halls or sports halls.

Claims

[1] Nesting aid (1) for insects (10) in the form of a mesh mat (2), characterized by , that the grid mat (2) is made of interwoven or braided tubes (3, 4). [2] Nesting aid (1) for insects (10) according to claim 1, characterized by , that the tubes (3, 4) woven or braided to form the grid mat (2) are designed in the form of metal tubes. [3] Nesting aid (1) for insects (10) according to claim 1 or according to claim 2, characterized by that the tubes (3, 4) are made of aluminium or of an aluminium alloy. [4] Nesting aid (1) for insects (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the interwoven or braided tubes (3, 4) have a rod diameter of 8 mm to 12 mm. [5] Nesting aid (1) for insects (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by, that the interwoven or braided tubes (3, 4) have a rod wall thickness of 0.8 mm to 1.2 mm. [6] Nesting aid (1) for insects (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the grid mat (2) is designed from tubes (3,4) spaced vertically and horizontally apart and interwoven or braided together. [7] Nesting aid (1) for insects (10) according to claim 6, characterized by , that the mesh mat (2) with a mesh size of 45 mm x 45 mm to 51 mm x 51 mm can be formed by the horizontally and vertically spaced and interwoven or braided tubes (3,4). [8] Nesting aid (1) for insects (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the grid mat (2) is designed for the greening of facades (110). [9] Nesting aid (1) for insects (10) according to claim 8, characterized by, that a fleece (6) in the form of a fleece mat (6.1) can be arranged between the facade (110) and the mesh mat (2), wherein the fleece mat (6.1) can be arranged at a distance of 40 mm to 100 mm from the facade (110) such that a closed air layer can be formed between the fleece mat (6.1) and the facade (110). [10] Greening system (100) for planting building facades (110), comprising the nesting aid (1) for insects (10) according to one of the preceding claims, at least one fleece (6), in particular in the form of a fleece mat (6.1), and at least one rainwater system with or without a rainwater storage tank.

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