瘿蜂感染了橡树的果实
Gall wasps have infected the oak’s acorn crop.
它们的幼虫利用植物组织
Their larvae use the plant’s own tissues
为自己制♥造♥了一个结节充当庇护所
to create for themselves a protective nodule, a gall.
这些幼虫不断生长 分泌出一种甜甜的汁液
The growing galls secrete a sugary liquid
这种诱惑是工蚁难以抵御的
that the worker ants can’t resist.
通过用这种办法吸引蚂蚁
By attracting the ants in this way.
瘿蜂的幼虫为自己又增加了一重屏障
the gall wasp larvae gain a degree of protection
抵御掠食者和寄生虫
from predators and parasites.
但是这些汁液太少了 远远不能
But these few precious drops will never be enough
满足蚁群无尽的胃口
to satisfy the colony’s spiralling demands.
畜栏蚁群的工蚁们必须到更远的地方去觅食
The Corral colony workers need to look further afield.
离巢越远 意味着越危险
Casting the net wider means taking bigger risks,
但很可能获得的回报也更丰厚
but holds out the possibility of huge rewards.
采集者即将成为猎人
The gatherers are about to become hunters.
侦查兵涌向另一个蜜蚁蚁群
Scouts soon stumble upon another honey ant colony.
畜栏蚁群展开了一场突袭
The Corral colony sends in a raiding party.
这是一次迅速的 有组织的袭击
It’s a fast, co-ordinated attack.
较小的蚁群很快被击溃
The smaller colony doesn’t stand a chance.
战争留下的残骸被拖到阳光下
The spoils of war are dragged out into the sunlight.
不是所有士兵都轻易投降
Not everyone gives up without a struggle.
然而在如此强大的攻势面前 一切抵抗都是徒劳
But resistance is futile in the face of such overwhelming odds.
什么都没有剩下
Nothing is left behind.
蚁卵 幼虫 工蚁 蛹 全都被搬回了巢穴
Eggs, larvae, workers, pupae are all carried back to the Corral nest.
体内藏满蜜汁的贮蜜蚁是最珍贵的战利品
Loaded with honey, the repletes are the most valuable plunder of all.
有一些在地下被肢解榨干
Some are dismembered and drained underground.
另一些被拖到地面上
Others are dragged to the surface
拖回胜利者的巢穴
and hauled back to the victors’ nest.
但是要穿过无人区对它们来说可算是一次挑战
But they can be a real challenge to manoeuvre across no-man’s land.
蜜蚁群之间的多数冲突就是这样发生的
This is how most clashes between honey ant colonies are played out.
赢家永远是人多势众的那一方
Invariably, the winner is the one that has the superior numbers.
有时 胜利的蚁群
Sometimes, captured broods
会把俘获的蚁卵加入到的自己的育儿室中
are added to the victorious colony’s nursery
抚育长大 就像自己的卵一样
to be raised as their own.
但这一次不会发生
But not here, not today.
从受袭的巢穴中抢来的每件东西
Everything pillaged from the raided nest
都被长♥期♥储存起来备用
is processed for long-term storage.
处理被俘贮蜜蚁的困难之处在于得到糖蜜
The difficulty with captured honey-pots is getting at the honey.
工蚁们被迫咬开身体 去掉脑袋
The workers are forced to chew through the body, removing the head
和胸腔 只留下敞口的蜜桶
and thorax, leaving behind an open ‘barrel’
以便轻松饮用
to be drained at leisure.
这次袭击的时机正好
The raid couldn’t have come at a better time.
巢穴的储粮袋都填满了
It’s filled the Corral colony’s larders,
确保2000只幼虫饮食充足
ensuring its 2,000 inhabitants will be well-fed
足以度过即将到来的冬天
through the approaching winter.
但是同样重要的是
But just as importantly,
一个有可能威胁到蚁后统治的巢穴
a rival nest that could have threatened*the queen’s reign
被消灭了
has been eliminated.
在未来的数年内
For the next few years.
峡谷中的生命都按部就班地生长着
life in the canyon follows its own particular course.
一年一年 周而复始
The seasons ebb and flow.
但是蚁后一直在建立自己的帝国 永不停息
But through it all. the Corral queen continues to build her empire.
这个蚁群已经六岁了
Even though the colony is now six years old.
巢穴的入口仍然只是地上一个毫不起眼的小洞
the nest entrance is still an unassuming hole in the ground.
但现在 这里是通往奇妙的地下世界的大门
But this is now a portal into a magical subterranean world.
一个蜜蚁的超级群落
A honey ant super-colony.
几千只工蚁的家
Home to several thousand workers.
数百只贮蜜蚁的居所
And hundreds of honey-filled repletes.
蚁后现在统治着一股惊人的力量
The queen now reigns over a formidable force
这股力量统治着马蹄峡谷的这片区域
that dominates this part of Horseshoe Canyon.
一座复杂的地下城市已经建立
Together, they have built a complex underground city.
地表下隐藏着的是一个网络
Just beneath the surface is a network
连接着房♥间和连通的地道
of chambers and linking tunnels.
一条笔直的烟囱从这里延伸了两米长
From these, a single, vertical chimney extends two metres
通往坚硬如混凝土的地下 抵达巢穴的中枢
down into the concrete-hard earth to reach the colony’s nerve-centre.
这么深的地下 土壤还是很潮湿
This deep, the soil is still moist,
即便地表温度急剧飙升 这里的空气还是很凉爽
the air cool, despite the soaring surface temperatures.
这里正是蚁后帝国的中心
This is the very heart of the queen’s empire.
其它昆虫也被吸引到这片地下绿洲来
Others too have been drawn to this underground oasis.
这只甲虫已经前进到
This beetle has made its way
迷宫中更深的凹陷处
down into the deeper recesses of the labyrinth.
当它进入蚁后的洞穴中
As it pushes on into the royal chambers,
侍卫立刻就开始了进攻
the imperial guard immediately attack.
然而它们的颚和喷射的蚁酸
But their jaws and acid-sprays
对甲虫厚重的外壳没什么伤害
make little impact on its heavy armour.
过了一会儿 它们就选择忽视这个入侵者了
After a while, they start to ignore the intruder.
也许是因为甲虫身上逐渐沾上了蚁群的气味
Perhaps the beetle begins to take on the colony smell
不再引起守卫的警惕了
and no longer arouses the guard’s suspicions.
但是蚂蚁使自己暴露在了危险之中
But the ants leave it alone at their peril.
现在它作为蚁群的一员混了进来
Now passing itself off as a colony member.
真正的意图便显现出来
its true intentions become clear.
这么大一只甲虫需要很多食物
A beetle this big needs lots of food
这个育儿室可以成为绝佳的捕猎场所
and this nursery chamber is proving to be a rich hunting ground.
这一年 蚁群的发展到达了顶峰
This year, the colony has reached a tipping point.
因为这是六年来第一次
For the first time in its six-year history,
巢中不仅有雄蚁还有雌蚁存在
there are male as well as female ants in the nest.
蚁后最终成功地
The Corral queen has finally succeeded
培育了第一代有翅膀的雄蚁和雌蚁
in producing her first generation of winged princes and princesses.
过去几年中蚁后和她的军队所作的努力
All the work of the queen and her army over the last few years
都是为了这关健性的一刻
has been to reach this one pivotal moment.
很快这些长翅膀的皇室成员就会飞越这片荒漠
Soon, these winged royals will fan out across the desert
去创造一个新的帝国
to establish new colonies.
它们已经在这里待了几个星期了
They have already been packed in down here for weeks.
工蚁持续向它们供给养料
Workers keep them fuelled up
它们的翅膀是为初次飞行准备的
and their wings in prime condition for their maiden flight.
万事俱备 它们现在只需要一个时机开始旅程
All they need now is a trigger to send them on their way.
这一契机正在荒漠上方的高空中酝酿着
And that trigger is brewing high in the desert sky.
*雷声滚滚*
THUNDER RUMBLES
夏季的大雨终于到来了
The summer rains finally arrive.
在这里 这个季节被称作雨季
Around here, it’s called the monsoon season.
倾盆大雨带来的降水量多达若干厘米
These torrential downpours can dump several centimetres of rain
就在几个小时内
in just a few hours.
坚硬的地面被洪水泡软了
The normally hard ground is softened by the deluge.
这里有超过180种蚂蚁
Over 180 ant species are found here
而这一刻正是绝大多数蚂蚁期盼已久的
and this is the moment most of them have been waiting for.
空中是数以万计飞翔着的昆虫
The air is filled with millions of flying insects…
都是年轻的蚁后和她们的配偶
..as virgin queens and male consorts
在努力寻找对方
seek each other out.
混乱的局面持续了整个下午
The mass emergence continues throughout the afternoon.
当天气开始凉爽起来时 关键时刻终于到来
As the day begins to cool, the time has finally come
畜栏蜜蚁们该露面了
for the Corral honey ants to put in an appearance.
工蚁们倾巢而出 确保巢穴周边的安全
Workers pour out to secure the perimeter of the nest-hole.
清理出一块安全的起飞空地
creating a protected launch pad.
蚁后们和小得多的雄蚁沿着隧♥道♥移♥动♥
The queens and much smaller males move up through the tunnels
向地面进发 来到阳光下
towards the surface and out into the light.
仍处地下深处的
Still deep underground,
蚁后看不到这意义重大的一幕
the queen won’t witness these momentous events,
但她长着翅膀的子女将会延续皇室的血统
but her winged sons and daughters are about to spread the royal line
遍及整个荒漠
far across the desert.
在气氛狂热的几分钟里 数百只蜜蚁飞向蓝天
In a few frenetic minutes, hundreds take to the skies…
与巢穴中出来的其他蜜蚁交♥配♥
..mate with the other honey ants emerging from nests
沿着峡谷飞翔
along the canyon.
随后它们跌落到地上
And then tumble back to earth.
绝大多数在几个小时内就会死去
Most will perish within a few hours.
它们死亡的方式各不相同
They can meet their end in many different ways.
极高的死亡率 正是蚁后
The massive rate of attrition is why the Corral queen
生产如此多带翅膀后代的原因
must produce so many winged offspring.
和蜜蚁世界中许多其他的事情一样
Like so much else in honey ant life,
能否建立新的帝国完全取决于数量
starting new colonies is all about numbers.
有些甚至被其它种群的蚂蚁消灭掉
Some even get picked off by other ants.
虚弱些的还有伤残者很快就会死去
The weak and the injured are quickly recycled.
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