# 17 The Hard-Working Insect
Suppose a population count were made. Which insect would win out? You might think the fly or the mosquito. Neither is right. The answer is the ant. Ants live in many places. (They are not at the North and South poles, though.) And they don't live alone. They live in colonies. Some colonies are as small as ten ants. Others have as many ants as there are people in New York City.
Ants may look alike. But they work differently. For instance, Harvester Ants gather seeds. They store them in their nests. If the seeds get damp, they spread them out in the sun to dry. These seeds are food for the long winter.
Honey Ants collect honeydew. Honeydew is a thin syrup. It drops from the stomachs of certain small insects. The ants store this honey in their nests. They use live ants as storage tanks. These ants just keep swallowing honey until they are as round as peas. When worker ants are hungry, they feed from the mouths of these honey-pots.
Then there are the Army Ants of Africa. They are hunters. They're fierce. They march in a column like soldiers. Nothing stops them. They even cross streams. They make a living bridge. Some ants cling to each other. The rest of the column marches over this bridge. They eat everything in their way. They eat insects, toads, and snakes. Anything!
Ants are well organized. But they cannot think. They follow a trail made by the front ants. If the trail goes in a circle, the whole column keeps going around. They circle till they all fall dead.
So what's the lesson? Work hard like an ant. But don't think like one!
# 17 勤勞的昆蟲
假設進行一次數量統計。哪種昆蟲會勝出？你可能認為是蒼蠅或蚊子。都不對。答案是螞蟻。螞蟻生活在許多地方。（不過牠們不在北極和南極。）而且牠們不獨居。牠們群居生活。有些群體小到只有十隻螞蟻。其他群體的螞蟻數量則像紐約市的人口一樣多。
螞蟻可能看起來很像。但牠們的工作方式不同。例如，收穫蟻收集種子。牠們將種子儲存在巢穴中。如果種子受潮，牠們會將種子攤開在陽光下曬乾。這些種子是漫長冬季的食物。
蜜蟻收集蜜露。蜜露是一種稀薄的糖漿。它從某些小型昆蟲的胃部滴落。螞蟻將這種蜜儲存在巢中。牠們用活螞蟻作為儲存罐。這些螞蟻不停地吞食蜜露，直到身體圓得像豌豆一樣。當工蟻飢餓時，牠們就從這些「蜜罐」的嘴裡取食。
還有非洲的行軍蟻。牠們是獵手。牠們很兇猛。牠們像士兵一樣列隊行進。沒有什麼能阻止牠們。牠們甚至穿越溪流。牠們搭建活體橋梁。一些螞蟻互相緊抓。隊伍的其餘部分從這座橋上行進。牠們吃掉沿途的一切。牠們吃昆蟲、蟾蜍和蛇。任何東西！
螞蟻組織嚴密。但牠們不會思考。牠們跟隨前方螞蟻留下的蹤跡。如果蹤跡繞圈，整個隊伍就會不停地繞圈。牠們繞圈直到全部倒下死亡。
那麼教訓是什麼？像螞蟻一樣努力工作。但不要像牠們一樣思考！