How Do Ants Build Bridges with Their Bodies?

课文

1. Certain ant species, like fire ants, link legs and jaws to form living, flexible structures over gaps.

   某些蚂蚁（如火蚁）会用腿和颚相互连接，在缝隙上搭成活体柔性结构。

2. Each ant grips two others firmly, creating a network that distributes weight evenly across many individuals.

   每只蚂蚁都紧紧抓住另外两只，形成一张能均匀分担重量的网络。

3. This collective behavior requires no central leader—ants respond locally to touch and pheromone cues.

   这种集体行为无需中央指挥，蚂蚁仅根据触觉和信息素等局部信号作出反应。

4. The bridge adjusts its shape dynamically as more ants join or leave, depending on traffic flow.

   桥梁会随蚂蚁的加入或离开动态调整形状，以适应交通流量变化。

5. Researchers found that these structures can support up to 100 times an individual ant’s body weight.

   研究人员发现，这类结构最多可承重单只蚂蚁体重的100倍。

6. Unlike rigid man-made bridges, ant bridges bend, stretch, and self-repair without breaking.

   与刚性的人造桥梁不同，蚁桥可弯曲、拉伸，并能自我修复而不崩解。

7. Engineers now mimic this principle to design modular robots that assemble into adaptive tools.

   工程师正借鉴这一原理，设计可自主组装成自适应工具的模块化机器人。

8. Such swarm intelligence shows how simple rules can produce complex, functional group behaviors.

   此类群体智能表明，简单规则也能催生复杂而实用的群体行为。