natural recyclers

2. These marine crustaceans grow by molting. They don’t throw away their old shells. Instead, they repurpose it as food- a meal full of calcium that the lobster can use to help toughen up that new shell.
5. This species of crabs recycle their living decorations during the molting process. They remove the anemones, sponges and other decorations from their old shell and use them to decorate their new shell.
7. This insects costume themselves in the remains of their prey, Instead of just leaving the corpse of their prey, they put it to good use. They pile the emptied husks of the dead onto their backs to avoid predation.
9. This type of mushrooms grow in fanned layers on dead branches and stumps everywhere. They use the dead wood to make more of themselves. When they die, their molecules become available for other living things.
11. These insects live to collect and repurpose others excreta. Not only do they build their homes out of feces, but they also eat it and lay their eggs in it.
12. These birds nest underground. Although they are capable of digging out their own burrows, they also use homes left over by prairie dogs or ground rodents. They also recycle animal dung, making a kind of 'Welcome' mat out of it.
13. These creatures are perhaps nature's greatest recyclers. They have adapted to life in human environments by building their nests with whatever is available, which often includes anything from discarded string and newspapers to paper clips and plastic.

1. These eight legged arthropods decorate their home with bits of leaves, twigs and other plant detritus along with their own shimmery ribbons, fluff and silk tufts.
3. The larvae of these beautiful flying insects eat the remains of the egg out of which they hatch. They also often eat the skins they shed in the five molting processes they undergo on the route to become an adult.
4. These aquatic creatures have been seen building shelters out of discarded debris. These makeshift homes are built from anything found lying around, from cracked coconut shells, to abandoned sea shells, to glass jars and other containers thrown away as trash.
6. Also known as mud pout or horned pout, this species of fish lives at the bottom of lakes and rivers. It eats pretty much anything it can find and fit into its mouth. “Anything” includes dead fish, dead insects, and other detritus.
8. These decapods crustaceans don't grow their own shells, so to protect themselves they have to salvage shells abandoned by other sea life like sea snails, or objects thrown by humans like glass bottles, cans or shotgun shells.
10. These natural recyclers attach themselves to any hard surface they can find. This includes shipwrecks, undersea pipelines and even oil rigs. By repurposing wreckage on the sea floor, they also provide habitat for the countless other species that rely on their ecology for sustenance.