Name: 奴隸主螞蟻的恐怖之處 (The Horror of the Slaver Ant)
Uploaded: 2022-12-08T16:51:12.000Z
Duration: 10 min 44 s

Everything changed when the slaver nation  attacked. What used to be a thriving colony  

當奴隸制國家進攻時，一切都改變了。曾經是一個繁榮的殖民地

is now a captured country. Slaves do  the work, serving their new masters  

現在是一個被俘的國家。奴隸們做著工作，為他們的新主人服務

until they die, only to be replaced by  new victims harvested in brutal raids.

直到他們死亡，才由在殘酷的突襲中收穫的新受害者所取代。

The World War of the Ants is claiming millions of  lives every day. But in the brutal world of ants,  

螞蟻的世界戰爭每天都在奪走數百萬人的生命。但在殘酷的螞蟻世界裡。

straight up war is not the only way. Around 50  ant species practice slavery, the most extreme  

直接的戰爭並不是唯一的方式。大約有50種螞蟻物種實行奴隸制，最極端的是

division of labor. We don’t know how this began  but some ant species perfected this cruel trade.

勞動分工。我們不知道這是如何開始的，但一些螞蟻物種完善了這種殘酷的交易。

Meet Polyergus, the most intense of the slaver  ant tribes. There are different species,  

認識一下Polyergus，它是最激烈的奴僕蟻部落。有不同的物種。

but generally, they’re 4 to 10 millimetres long,  with brown to blackish bodies and sickle shaped  

但一般來說，它們有4至10毫米長，身體呈棕色至黑色，呈鐮刀狀。

mandibles. Polyergus has specialized in slavery  so much that they have lost their ability to care  

下頜骨。Polyergus專門從事奴役工作，以至於它們已經失去了照顧的能力

for themselves. They don’t clean, build nests,  care for their brood, or feed themselves. They  

為自己。它們不打掃衛生，不築巢，不照顧自己的孩子，也不自己吃飯。它們

only exist for raiding. Slaves make up  80 to 90% of the ants in their colonies,  

只為掠奪而存在。奴隸佔其殖民地中的80至90%的螞蟻。

so a few hundred Polyergus and a single  queen control thousands of slave ants.

是以，幾百只Polyergus和一隻蟻后就能控制成千上萬的從屬螞蟻。

We will summarise and simplify what we know  about Polyergus into one grand story. You can  

我們將把我們所知道的關於Polyergus的情況總結和簡化為一個宏大的故事。你可以

find more information in our sources! So now  let us witness the cruel banality of nature.

在我們的資料中找到更多的資訊!所以現在讓我們見證大自然的殘酷平庸。

It all begins on a mild summer morning, on a sunny  field. Witness this colony of over ten thousand  

這一切都始於一個溫和的夏季早晨，在一片陽光明媚的田野上。見證這個超過一萬人的殖民地

Formica ants, genetically cousins of Polyergus,  who build a thriving nest in the underground.  

Formica螞蟻，在遺傳上是Polyergus的表親，他們在地下建立了一個繁榮的巢穴。  

They are a widespread genus, some species are  good fighters, some great builders and some  

他們是一個廣泛的屬，有些物種是好的戰士，有些是偉大的建設者，有些是

cattle farmers – often welcome by humans because  they hunt vermin that hurt forests. Nobody noticed  

養牛人--常常受到人類的歡迎，因為他們獵殺傷害森林的害蟲。沒有人注意到

the lone Polyergus scout that briefly showed  up this morning, before she bolted away again.

孤獨的Polyergus偵察員今天早上短暫地出現了，然後她又跑開了。

The attack begins in the early afternoon.  The scout returned from her mission to find  

攻擊開始於下午初。  偵察員完成任務回來，發現

the Formica nests. She dances erratically and  spreads pheromones that excite and mass recruit  

福美來的巢穴。她舞姿飄忽不定，散佈的資訊素讓人興奮，並大量招募。

more and more ants, until a large raiding  party of a thousand warrioresses has formed.

越來越多的螞蟻，直到形成一個由一千名女戰士組成的大型突擊隊。

A close-packed, well organized column, up  to ten meters long, begins to move. As the  

一支密密麻麻、組織良好、長達10米的隊伍開始移動。隨著

Polyergus raiding party arrives at the Formica  colony, the attack begins almost immediately.  

Polyergus突擊隊到達Formica殖民地，攻擊幾乎立即開始。  

Dozens of attackers begin digging and clearing  up debris from the nest's entrance to make it  

數十名攻擊者開始挖掘和清理巢穴入口處的碎石，使之成為

easier to storm. As soon as they are done,  hundreds of the attackers rush inside.

更容易攻克。他們一做完，就有數百名攻擊者衝進去。

The defenders vastly outnumber their attackers and  are formidable warriors able to shoot acid. But  

防守者的人數大大超過了攻擊者，並且是能夠射出酸液的可怕的戰士。但是

instead of fighting back effectively, they seem  confused and scatter rather than fighting back.

而不是有效的反擊，他們似乎很困惑，散開而不是反擊。

Polyergus also seems to be somewhat resistant  to the acid sprays of the defenders – and so  

Polyergus似乎也對保衛者的酸液噴霧有一定的抵抗力，是以

even if a defense is forming, the attackers  use their mandibles to pierce and kill.

即使形成了防禦，攻擊者也會用他們的下顎來刺穿和殺死。

There are a few different ideas as to why  Polyergus attacks are so efficient and one  

關於Polyergus的攻擊為何如此高效，有幾個不同的觀點，其中一個觀點是

of the most fascinating ones is chemical warfare.  Instead of relying on brute force, they release  

其中最吸引人的是化學戰。  他們不依靠蠻力，而是釋放出

a propaganda pheromone that makes the defenders  panic, unable to mount an organised defense. The  

一種宣傳資訊素，使防禦者驚慌失措，無法進行有組織的防禦。這

attackers have nothing to gain from intense ant to  ant combat other than immense casualties. What’s  

攻擊者在激烈的蟻對蟻戰鬥中除了巨大的傷亡外沒有任何好處。什麼是

more, they actually want their victims to survive,  so that they can be raided again in a few weeks.

更多的是，他們實際上希望他們的受害者能夠生存下來，這樣他們就可以在幾周後再次被突襲。

As the raid unfolds, the attackers breach  deep into the colony, looking for their  

隨著突襲行動的展開，襲擊者深入殖民地，尋找他們的 "新家"。

most valuable possession: The colony's babies.  They grab the pupae and larvae that will make  

最有價值的財產。蜂群的嬰兒。  它們抓取的蛹和幼蟲將成為

up the next generation of Formica and carry  them out of the nest. Hundreds are abducted  

抬起下一代福美來，把它們帶出巢穴。數以百計的人被綁架

and brought back to the Polyergus colony in  this raid alone. Well, most of them. A few  

並在這次突襲中被帶回了波利格斯殖民地。嗯，他們中的大多數。有幾個

unlucky ones are eaten as a sort of snack. The  surviving victims will be turned into slaves.

不幸運的人被當作一種點心吃掉。倖存的受害者將被轉化為奴隸。

After about an hour the raid is over  and the Formica can begin to recover.  

大約一個小時後，突擊檢查結束，福美來可以開始恢復。  

It seems their only strategy is to make  even more ants. A decent sized colony  

似乎他們唯一的策略是製造更多的螞蟻。一個相當規模的蟻群

can forfeit thousands of pupae in a single  raiding season and still survive. Although,  

在一個突襲季節中，可以放棄成千上萬的蛹而仍然生存。雖然如此。

in this case, while the raid was going  on something even more sinister happened.  

在這種情況下，當突擊檢查正在進行的時候，發生了更險惡的事情。  

Hold that thought though, because how  are Polyergus turning ants into slaves?

不過，請保持這種想法，因為Polyergus是如何將螞蟻變成奴隸的？

Ants conquered almost the whole planet  over 100 million years ago. They owe  

1億多年前，螞蟻幾乎征服了整個地球。它們欠

their success to being social animals  that perfected chemical communication.  

他們的成功是由於他們是完善了化學交流的社會動物。  

Chemical signals and cues let ants know what  their colony needs, and what each individual  

化學信號和線索讓螞蟻知道它們的蟻群需要什麼，以及每個人需要什麼

should do. And, most importantly in  this case: who is a friend or foe.

應該怎麼做。而且，在這種情況下最重要的是：誰是朋友或敵人。

Slave-making ants are much less  social than other ant species.  

制奴蟻比其他螞蟻物種的社會性要低得多。  

Some species miss a lot of the genes other ants  have to make communication possible. In a sense,  

一些物種錯過了很多其他螞蟻的基因，使交流成為可能。在某種意義上說。

they are bad at talking to each other. So it  may be that as Polyergus ancestors started to  

他們不善於互相交談。是以，可能是隨著Polyergus的祖先開始

abduct other ants they lost the ability to  collaborate and work together productively.

綁架其他螞蟻，他們就失去了協作和有效合作的能力。

Soon after the stolen Formica offspring  have been brought to the slaver colony,  

不久後，被盜的福美來後代已經被帶到了奴隸主的殖民地。

they are progressively covered  in Polyergus pheromones.  

他們逐漸被聚能的資訊素所覆蓋。  

They are chemically imprinted, similar to a  duckling, who imprints on its mother after birth.  

它們有化學印記，類似於小鴨子，小鴨子出生後會在其母親身上留下印記。  

When the new slaves hatch, they behave as though  they are part of the Polyergus colony and begin  

當新的奴隸孵化出來時，他們的行為就像他們是聚能體殖民地的一部分，並開始

to work for them unconditionally, keeping the  nest clean, caring for the next generation of  

無條件地為他們工作，保持巢穴的清潔，照顧下一代的

slaves and masters, hunting for food and  feeding their enslavers mouth to mouth. 

奴隸和主人，獵取食物，口對口地餵養他們的奴隸主。

This sort of brainwashing goes so far that if  they encounter free Formica ants in the wild,  

這種洗腦的結果是，如果他們在野外遇到了自由的福美來螞蟻。

they will treat them as enemies. In a sense  they are not true slaves, as they serve  

他們會把他們當作敵人。從某種意義上說，他們不是真正的奴隸，因為他們服侍的是

willingly and show no interest in freedom. It  is more like violent abduction and adoption,  

心甘情願，對自由毫無興趣。這更像是暴力綁架和收養。

which doesn’t make things that much better.  And as the Formica only live for a few months,  

這並沒有使事情變得更好。  而且由於福美來只能活幾個月。

a constant new supply of victims is necessary –  to survive, Polyergus can never stop enslaving.

不斷地提供新的受害者是必要的--為了生存，Polyergus不能停止奴役。

How are new Polyergus colonies created? After all,  

新的Polyergus群落是如何形成的？畢竟。

Polyergus workers are so useless that a queen  can’t start a new colony without slaves. But  

Polyergus的工人是如此無用，以至於蜂王在沒有奴隸的情況下無法開始一個新的蜂群。但是

how does she make slaves without warriors?  It turns out, there are two main strategies.  

她如何在沒有戰士的情況下製造奴隸？  事實證明，有兩個主要策略。  

The more dangerous one might unfold during  a raid like the one we witnessed before.

更危險的可能是在像我們之前目睹的那種突襲中展開。

A young Polyergus queen silently follows the  raiding party. Using the chaos of the invasion,  

一個年輕的Polyergus女王默默地跟著突擊隊。利用入侵的混亂局面。

she is able to find her way to the Formica queen  and kill her, taking over the shaken colony. 

她能夠找到找到福美來女王並殺死她，接管了這個動盪的殖民地。

Although such a victory may be very short  lived. Polyergus do not tolerate other slaver  

儘管這樣的勝利可能是非常短暫的。Polyergus不容忍其他奴隸主

colonies within their hunting ground. They  raid each other fiercely too and can destroy  

在它們的狩獵場內，有很多殖民地。它們相互之間的攻擊也很猛烈，可以破壞

the competing colonies nearby. So while this  tactic sometimes works , it is pretty dangerous.

附近有競爭的殖民地。是以，雖然這種策略有時是有效的，但它是相當危險的。

Another young queen is going  for a different strategy:  

另一位年輕的女王正在採取不同的策略。

she is looking for a Formica colony  that is further from her birthplace,  

她正在尋找一個離她的出生地更遠的福美來殖民地。

attacking a whole colony on her own. She bolts  through an entrance, pushing aside confused  

她獨自攻擊了整個殖民地。她穿過一個入口，把困惑的人推到一邊。

ants that try to stop her, releasing a powerful  appeasement pheromone that drives defenders away.  

試圖阻止她的螞蟻，釋放一種強大的安撫資訊素，把防禦者趕走。  

She has only a short time window to find  the Formica queen deep in the hostile nest.

她只有很短的時間窗口來找到深藏在敵對巢穴中的福美來女王。

Once she finds her target, both queens engage  in a fight to the death. The Polyergus queen  

一旦她找到了目標，兩位女王就會進行一場生死搏鬥。波利格斯女王

is well equipped with her sharp  mandibles. She bites and rips into  

她裝備有鋒利的下顎。她咬住並撕開了

her victim for about half an hour before  she finally calms down. Between her bites,  

她的受害者被咬了大約半小時，才終於平靜下來。在她咬人的間隙。

she licks the chemical surface of the dead  Formica queen, covering herself in her pheromones.  

她舔著死去的福美來女王的化學表面，用她的資訊素覆蓋自己。  

When she is done with this macabre  ritual, Formica workers approach her.

當她完成這個可怕的儀式後，福美來工人向她走來。

Subdued by her intense smells, they start  grooming and feeding her, as though pledging  

他們被她強烈的氣味所征服，開始給她梳理和餵食，彷彿在承諾

their allegiance to their new ruler. She still  might not be done though: Formica colonies often  

他們對新統治者的效忠。不過她仍然可能沒有完成。福米卡殖民地經常

have multiple queens, who all need to be defeated,  which is not guaranteed: often attacking queens  

有多個皇后，都需要被打敗，這並不保證：經常攻擊皇后

will be stopped by a phalanx of workers that  rip her apart, or are defeated in royal battle.

將被一個工人方陣阻止，將她撕碎，或在皇家戰鬥中被打敗。

But if she does manage to kill all the  queens, the colony has been taken over  

但如果她確實設法殺死了所有的女王，那麼這個殖民地就被佔領了。

and the enslaved brood will begin  to serve a new queen, the usurper.  

而被奴役的雛鳥將開始服侍一個新的女王，即篡位者。  

She now begins laying eggs that are  cared for by her new slaves until  

她現在開始產卵，由她的新奴隸照顧，直到

new Polyergus ants hatch, that will soon  start new raids on neighbouring colonies.

新的Polyergus螞蟻孵化，很快就會開始對鄰近的殖民地進行新的襲擊。

No matter what we humans  do, quietly below our feet,  

無論我們人類做什麼，都在我們的腳下悄悄地進行。

the World War of the Ants is raging,  with wild and horrible strategies,  

螞蟻的世界戰爭正在激烈進行，其策略瘋狂而可怕。

fought by billions of individuals every single  day. Polyergus will continue to hunt for slaves  

每一天都有數十億人在戰鬥。波利格斯將繼續獵取奴隸

as to stop raiding would be their demise. And  in the war of the ants, there is no giving up.

因為停止掠奪將是它們的滅頂之災。而在螞蟻的戰爭中，沒有人可以放棄。

We want to explore even more ants species in  videos to come. But not just ants, our planet has  

我們希望在未來的視頻中探索更多的螞蟻物種。但不僅僅是螞蟻，我們的星球還有

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奴隸主螞蟻的恐怖之處 (The Horror of the Slaver Ant)

sort

intense

strategy

thrive