Coneheads, egg stacks and anteater attacks: The reign of a termite queen - Barbara L. Thorne

翻译人员: Selena Dong 校对人员: Gia Hwang

Tens of thousands of conehead termites are swarming in the Panamanian air.

数以万计的锥头白蚁 在巴拿马的空气中蜂拥而至，

These 4 young hopefuls are brave— oh...

这四只年轻希望之星真勇敢——噢！

I guess 3. Oh, wow, 2 in 1. Okay!

还剩三只，哇，二只了， 还剩一只，好吧！

This single determined termite is braving countless threats

这只坚定的白蚁直面无数险阻，

to participate in the only flight of her lifetime.

参加她一生中唯一的一次飞行。

She evades the onslaught of predators even as she lands, flips off her wings,

甚至降落时也要躲避捕食者的袭击，

褪去翅膀，分泌信息素 并吸引雄性伴侣。

secretes pheromones, and attracts a mate.

The pair dash from the danger zone into a rotting tree stump.

它俩飞速撤离危险地带， 并在腐烂的树桩里驻扎，

It’s the perfect first home— but they’re not alone.

第一个家很完美—— 但它们非唯一的住客。

Unlike most termite species,

与大多数种类白蚁不同，

conehead termite colonies can have multiple queens and kings.

锥头白蚁群可有多个蚁后和蚁王。

The pair is joined by several other termites ready to reproduce.

其他几只准备繁殖的白蚁 也加入到这对白蚁当中，

Together, they excavate a chamber in the stump,

它们一起在树桩中挖造蚁巢，

seal the entrance and get busy.

密封入口并进行交配。

When the resulting offspring hatch, they bear little resemblance to their parents;

当后代孵化出后， 几乎与父母没有相似之处，

they’re smaller, wingless, eyeless, and sterile.

它们更小且无翅，没有眼睛且不育。

Some of them, the soldiers,

其中的兵蚁，

have the species’ trademark conspicuously shaped heads—

有着这类白蚁标志性的显眼头型，

the function of which will soon be revealed.

该头型的作用将稍后揭秘。

They set out to scout for dead wood, laying the pheromone trails

它们出发探查枯木， 并沿路释放信息素，

the rest of the offspring, the colony’s workers,

其他后代，也就是蚁群的工蚁，

follow and reinforce as they retrieve food.

在取食物途中跟随并强化信息素。

As the termites collect and decompose plant debris,

这些白蚁收集并降解植物碎片，

they return essential nutrients to the soil,

将必要的营养成分带回土壤中，

allowing more vegetation to thrive.

促使更多植物茁壮成长。

Gradually, worker termites expand the colony's central chamber

为了给皇室和即将 出世的孩子梳洗和喂食，

as they groom and feed the royals and the upcoming broods.

渐渐地，工蚁扩大了蚁群的中心室。

The tiniest termites can’t yet eat wood independently.

这些最幼小的白蚁还无法独立吃木，

So, the workers process it and gift it to the youngsters through their saliva

所以，工蚁将其加工，

and by basically throwing up into their mouths.

通过唾液简单直接地送入幼蚁口中。

With the workers managing groceries, construction, and child care,

在工蚁打理杂物、掌管建设 和照顾幼蚁之际，

the royals fully commit themselves to reproduction.

皇室成员致力于繁衍后代。

The kings provide sperm on an as-needed basis,

蚁王根据需要提供精子，

and the queens undergo radical transformations.

蚁后则需要承受极端的转变，

Their abdomens develop efficient egg-laying machinery

她们的腹部演化出高效的产卵机制，

and extend dramatically.

并扩大数倍。

Each queen may produce hundreds of eggs a day.

每只蚁后一天可产卵成百上千，

Meanwhile, a worker entourage retrieves and neatly stacks them into piles.

与此同时，一名工蚁随从 收取并整齐地将卵堆放在一起，

The colony grows quickly.

蚁群迅速壮大。

And once its population is big enough,

当蚁群数量足够大时，

workers construct a system of tunnels stretching over 100 meters across terrain,

工蚁建造了一个 超过 100 米长的隧道系统，

along fallen logs, and up into tree crowns.

横跨地形，沿着倒下的原木， 向上延伸到树冠上。

These tunnels shelter the termites as they travel to and from food sites

当白蚁昼夜不停地往返觅食地时，

around the clock.

这些隧道能为它们提供庇护。

And eventually, they build a distinctive central nest.

最终，它们建造了 一个独特的核心蚁巢，

Using partially digested plant material, soil, and poop,

利用部分消化的植物 材料、土壤和粪便，

they construct a massive egg-shaped structure,

构建了一个巨大的蛋形结构，

complete with numerous passages, chambers, and ventilation holes.

里面设有不胜枚举的通道、 穴室和通风孔。

Deep within, they establish a royal cell that's fortified with extra thick walls.

深入巢穴，它们建造了皇室穴室， 并用超厚的墙体进行加固。

It’s not long before this architectural marvel attracts an admirer: an anteater.

没过多久，这个建筑奇迹就吸引了 一位仰慕者：食蚁兽，

She swipes at the nest and pokes her long tongue in.

她刨打蚁巢并将长舌伸了进去。

Those trapped in the tongue’s spines and sticky saliva

那些被舌头上的刺 和粘稠唾液困住的白蚁

are whisked off to their deaths.

将被拂走吃掉而亡，

But the termite soldiers launch a counterattack.

但白蚁中的兵蚁会发起反击。

They’re tiny and blind but their heads function like squirt guns.

它们虽然渺小且盲， 但其头部会像水枪一样发挥作用，

They secure the anteater’s position using chemical signals,

它们通过化学信号确定食蚁兽位置，

clench their powerful muscles and shoot a sticky spray from their heads.

紧绷强有力的肌肉， 并从头部射出粘稠的喷雾。

After a minute, the anteater stops feeding,

一分钟过后，食蚁兽停止进食，

scratches the goo away, and lopes off.

挂掉粘液并溜之大吉。

The nest sustained some damage, but the royals remain undisturbed,

蚁巢虽受到一些破坏， 但皇室并没有受到干扰，

pumping out eggs into their reinforced fortress.

产出的卵将被放入加固的堡垒中。

As the colony matures, some of the young develop into reproductives.

当蚁群成熟后， 一些幼蚁长成繁殖蚁。

Most fly off to establish new colonies— one lands on a fallen tree,

多数飞离蚁巢并建立新的蚁群—— 一只在倒下的树干上着陆，

another scrambles into a crack in a house,

另一只争先恐后地飞进 一间房子的缝隙里，

and another climbs into a shipping crate.

还有一只钻进运货箱里，

But some will simply saunter to sites nearby

但也有些则直接飘荡到附近的地点，

and become the monarchs of the colony’s satellite nests.

并成为该蚁群卫星巢的君主。

With one of the longest insect lifespans,

作为拥有最长生命周期的昆虫之一，

a termite queen’s reign can last more than 20 years.

一只白蚁蚁后的统治 可持续 20 余年。

The original queens and kings eventually die, but by the time they go,

最初的蚁后蚁王终将死去， 但在它们死去的时候，

several satellite nests are already thriving.

数个卫星巢已开始欣欣向荣。

Their reproductive offspring inherit the throne,

它们后代的繁殖蚁继承王位，

meaning that their colony may persist for decades to come.

这意味着它们的蚁群 可能在未来的几十年内持续存在。