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Insect intelligence: exploring their cognitive abilities
昆虫的智力：探索它们的认知能力（下）
Insects that display astounding mental capabilities
表现出惊人智力的昆虫
When it comes to intelligent insects, the animal kingdom is filled with them. From the amazing communication skills of honey bees to the navigation skills of some butterflies; these insects are truly fascinating.
说到聪明的昆虫，动物王国里充满了它们。从蜜蜂惊人的沟通技巧到一些蝴蝶的导航技巧；这些昆虫真的很迷人。
1. Honey bees
蜜蜂
Honey bees are colony insects, and one of their most impressive cognitive traits is their ability to communicate.
蜜蜂是群居昆虫，它们最令人印象深刻的认知特征之一是它们的交流能力。
Honey bees are colony insects, and one of their most impressive cognitive traits is their ability to communicate. As I mentioned earlier, this species will perform the waggle dance in order to tell other members of the hive where food is and its quality.
蜜蜂是群居昆虫，它们最令人印象深刻的认知特征之一是它们的交流能力。正如我之前提到的，这种物种会表演摇摆舞，以告诉蜂巢的其他成员食物在哪里及其质量。
What’s more, when it comes to foraging, certain bees seem to have an affinity for one type of flower, especially where colors are concerned. That’s because they’re able to remember specific colors and patterns and associate this with a reward. The same goes for scents.
更重要的是，在觅食方面，某些蜜蜂似乎对一种花有亲和力，尤其是在颜色方面。这是因为他们能够记住特定的颜色和图案，并将其与奖励联系起来。气味也是如此。
Honey bees also use their excellent communication when numbers get too large for the nest. In this case, they will swarm and it’s the queen that leads the way. When she finds a suitable spot for the swarm, she’ll release pheromones, and up to 10,000 worker bees will join her in preparation for finding a new home.
当蜜蜂的数量太大而无法筑巢时，蜜蜂也会利用它们出色的沟通能力。在这种情况下，它们会成群结队，而女王会带路。当她为蜂群找到合适的位置时，她会释放信息素，多达10000只工蜂将与她一起为寻找新家做准备。
Within a colony, honey bees have a very strict social structure, with each member having his or her own job. This cooperation means that the bees can work together to care for their hive, raise their young, and gather food. This is where their communication skills come to be invaluable because they’ll use tactile methods, pheromones, and visual cues to pass information between individuals.
在蜂群中，蜜蜂有一个非常严格的社会结构，每个成员都有自己的工作。这种合作意味着蜜蜂可以一起照顾蜂巢、养育幼蜂和收集食物。这就是他们的沟通技巧变得非常宝贵的地方，因为他们会使用触觉方法、信息素和视觉线索在个体之间传递信息。
What’s more, when they leave the hive to forage, honey bees are able to use ultraviolet light to find flowers and will even use the sun as a way to navigate their way home. While it was previously thought that bees lacked consciousness, new research has shown that they’re likely aware of their own existence and are sentient beings.
更重要的是，当蜜蜂离开蜂箱觅食时，它们能够利用紫外线找到花朵，甚至会利用太阳作为导航回家的方式。虽然以前认为蜜蜂缺乏意识，但新的研究表明，它们可能意识到自己的存在，并且是有感知力的生物。
If that wasn’t enough, consider that honey bees have even displayed problem solving abilities and can count! In studies, it was shown that, by using a decoy bees, individuals were able to learn a process in order to gain a reward.
如果这还不够，考虑一下蜜蜂甚至表现出了解决问题的能力，并且可以计数！研究表明，通过使用诱饵蜜蜂，个体能够学习一个过程以获得奖励。
And when it comes to counting, not only can bees recognize zero, but they’re also able to solve simple math problems with an accuracy of more than 70%. Further studies have shown that bees are also able to order items in terms of size, demonstrating that, while they may not be able to actually count in the way that we do, they have some cognition in relation to numerical value.
说到计数，蜜蜂不仅能识别零，还能以70%以上的准确率解决简单的数学问题。进一步的研究表明，蜜蜂也能够根据大小订购物品，这表明，虽然它们可能无法像我们那样实际计数，但它们对数值有一定的认知。
2. Dragonflies
蜻蜓
Dragonflies are known for their complex hunting strategies and this isn’t something that just happens by chance.
蜻蜓以其复杂的狩猎策略而闻名，这不是偶然发生的事情。
Dragonflies are known for their complex hunting strategies and this isn’t something that just happens by chance. These large insects are able to plan their hunts by predicting how their prey will move based on their trajectory and then adjusting their flight pattern to match these movements and make a successful kill. This allows them to catch their prey in flight, and they have a 97% accuracy when doing this.
蜻蜓以其复杂的狩猎策略而闻名，这不是偶然发生的事情。这些大型昆虫能够根据它们的轨迹预测猎物的移动方式，然后调整它们的飞行模式以匹配这些移动并成功杀死猎物，从而计划它们的狩猎。这使它们能够在飞行中捕捉猎物，并且在这样做时有97%的准确率。
Not only this, but dragonflies also adapt their hunting techniques based on things they have learned. For example, they’re able to recall the best hunting grounds and will also learn from their previous successes and mistakes during past hunts.
不仅如此，蜻蜓还根据自己学到的东西调整狩猎技巧。例如，它们能够回忆起最好的狩猎场，也能从过去狩猎中的成功和错误中吸取教训。
In order to be such successful hunters, dragonflies also have exceptional vision. Not only this, but their eyesight allows them to navigate through even the most complex environments. When hunting, their vision and cognition are so spot on that they can determine a single moving target from within a swarm! This is because of their ability to zone out all surrounding distractions and focus their attention on one target. An ability that was previously only recorded in primates.
为了成为如此成功的猎手，蜻蜓也有非凡的视力。不仅如此，他们的视力使他们能够在最复杂的环境中导航。狩猎时，它们的视觉和认知非常准确，可以从群体中确定一个移动的目标！这是因为他们能够排除周围的所有干扰，并将注意力集中在一个目标上。以前只记录在灵长类动物身上的一种能力。
When it comes to communication, dragonflies are very intelligent. They use various visual and auditory cues, including clicks, buzzes, and flashing their wings. Not only are these signals designed to communicate information between dragonflies, but scientists also believe their visual cues serve as a warning to predators.
说到交流，蜻蜓非常聪明。它们使用各种视觉和听觉线索，包括咔嗒声、嗡嗡声和翅膀的闪烁。这些信号不仅是为了在蜻蜓之间传递信息而设计的，科学家们还认为它们的视觉线索可以作为对捕食者的警告。
3. Ants
蚂蚁
Ants are among some of the intelligent insects and, like bees, live in colonies where teamwork is essential.
蚂蚁是一些聪明的昆虫之一，和蜜蜂一样，生活在团队合作至关重要的群体中。
Ants are among some of the intelligent insects and, like bees, live in colonies where teamwork is essential. This means that ants have to be effective communicators; and they are! Not only do colonies divide the workload and have a complex caste system, but they also use pheromones as a primary method of communication.
蚂蚁是一些聪明的昆虫之一，和蜜蜂一样，生活在团队合作至关重要的群体中。这意味着蚂蚁必须是有效的沟通者；他们确实如此！殖民地不仅分担工作量，拥有复杂的种姓制度，而且还使用信息素作为主要的交流方式。
This is hugely beneficial as it goes a long way in helping the coordination of the colony by sharing information about food sources and alerting others to potential threats. Both of these things can also be quickly committed to memory for an impressively long time. And because ants from the same colony have a similar scent, they’ll use their antennae to check each other out to make sure that they’re ‘family.’
这是非常有益的，因为它通过共享有关食物来源的信息和提醒其他人注意潜在威胁，在很大程度上有助于殖民地的协调。这两件事也可以在很长一段时间内被快速地记在记忆中。由于来自同一蚁群的蚂蚁有相似的气味，它们会用触角互相检查，以确保它们是“一家人”。
Both together and alone, ants are extremely good problem solvers. For example, when heading back to the nest, individuals are able to find the most efficient route and where they’ve found a good food source, they’ll leave a pheromone trail so others can find it too! When finding their way home, ants in the desert don’t have landmarks to help them, instead they use the sun’s position to allow them to travel more than 0.6 miles (1 km)!
无论是单独还是一起，蚂蚁都是非常善于解决问题的人。例如，当返回巢穴时，个体能够找到最有效的路线，在哪里找到了良好的食物来源，它们会留下信息素痕迹，这样其他人也可以找到它！在寻找回家的路时，沙漠中的蚂蚁没有地标来帮助它们，相反，它们利用太阳的位置让它们行进超过0.6英里（1公里）！
One of the most impressive ways that ants work together and show their intelligence is through farming; yes you read that correctly. In England, ants have been observed farming honeydew from aphids and even building barns from moss and beetle exoskeletons in which to keep their livestock safe! And down in South America, for more than 60 million years, ants have been farming fungi which is thought to be a mutualistic relationship.
蚂蚁合作并展示其智慧的最令人印象深刻的方式之一是通过耕种；是的，你没看错。在英国，人们观察到蚂蚁种植蚜虫的蜜露，甚至用苔藓和甲虫的外骨骼建造谷仓，以保护牲畜的安全！在南美洲，6000多万年来，蚂蚁一直在种植真菌，这被认为是一种互惠关系。
4. Monarch butterflies
帝王蝶
Monarch butterflies use the position of the sun, it’s also been observed that they use the earth’s magnetic field.
帝王蝶利用太阳的位置，也有人观察到它们利用地球的磁场。
If there’s one thing that monarch butterflies are well known for, it’s their migratory habits. But what’s truly fascinating is the way in which they navigate during these migrations. Not only do monarch butterflies use the position of the sun, it’s also been observed that they use the earth’s magnetic field. This is detected by using UV light, picked up by the butterfly’s antennae.
如果说帝王蝶有一件事是众所周知的，那就是它们的迁徙习惯。但真正引人入胜的是它们在迁徙过程中的导航方式。帝王蝶不仅利用太阳的位置，还有人观察到它们利用地球的磁场。这是通过使用蝴蝶触角接收到的紫外线来检测的。
The result of this is that monarch butterflies are able to navigate over extraordinarily long distances of up to 3,000 miles (4,828 km) in a single migration. What amazes me more is that the butterfly’s mechanisms allow it to adjust its flight according to the time of day so it remains on the right path.
其结果是，帝王蝶能够在一次迁徙中航行长达3000英里（4828公里）的超长距离。更让我惊讶的是，蝴蝶的机制使它能够根据一天中的时间调整飞行，从而保持在正确的轨道上。
When migration occurs, it’s not uncommon to see very large numbers of monarchs gathered together. While they’re not typically social creatures, they know that congregating this way enables them to stay warm in winter.
当迁徙发生时，看到大量帝王蝶聚集在一起并不罕见。虽然它们通常不是群居动物，但它们知道这样聚集可以让它们在冬天保持温暖。
If that wasn’t enough, consider that monarch butterflies also have fantastic memories and learning abilities. These beautiful insects are able to recall the location of food sources and safe places to nest, all based on their past experiences.
如果这还不够，想想帝王蝶也有奇妙的记忆和学习能力。这些美丽的昆虫能够根据过去的经验回忆起食物来源的位置和安全的筑巢地点。
5. Termites
白蚁
Termites are another example of highly social insects that divide work within the nest and display intense cooperation.
白蚁是高度社会化的昆虫的另一个例子，它们在巢穴内分工并表现出强烈的合作。
Termites are another example of highly social insects that divide work within the nest and display intense cooperation in order that everything runs smoothly. The social structures within the termite nest are incredibly complex, and much like ants, there is a caste system.
白蚁是高度社会化的昆虫的另一个例子，它们在巢穴内分工，并表现出强烈的合作，以便一切顺利进行。白蚁巢穴内的社会结构非常复杂，就像蚂蚁一样，有一个种姓制度。
But one of the most fascinating things about these insects is how elaborate their nest structures are. They include various levels and chambers and a single nest can measure up to 17 feet (5.2 meters) in height. But they’d never be able to achieve this without effective communication, so it’s a good job that termites are able to use pheromone signals to pass information between colony members. This can include messages to do with coordinating behavior, incoming threats, and where the best food sources are located.
但这些昆虫最吸引人的一点是它们的巢穴结构是多么精致。它们包括不同的层次和房间，单个巢穴的高度可达17英尺（5.2米）。但如果没有有效的沟通，它们永远无法实现这一点，所以白蚁能够利用信息素信号在群体成员之间传递信息是一件好事。这可能包括与协调行为、即将到来的威胁以及最佳食物来源的位置有关的信息。
Building these nests is no mean feat, but termites are able to use their advanced problem solving skills to create a nest that’s not only stable but also protects the colon against predation. They’ll build mud tunnels which have a protective function but also use pheromone cues to let others know when a predator is near. Some species will even bang their heads on the ground to warn neighboring nests of a potential threat.
建造这些巢穴绝非易事，但白蚁能够利用他们先进的解决问题的技能来建造一个不仅稳定而且保护结肠免受捕食的巢穴。它们会建造具有保护功能的泥隧道，但也会使用信息素线索让其他人知道捕食者何时靠近。一些物种甚至会把头撞到地上，警告邻近的巢穴有潜在的威胁。
And that’s not even where their neighborly nature ends. Since some of the soldier termites grow extremely large jaws, they’re unable to feed themselves. But these intelligent insects have got this problem covered and will digest a substance called cellulose, found in wood, and feed it to their comrades.
这甚至不是他们睦邻友好的结束。由于一些士兵白蚁长出了非常大的下颚，它们无法养活自己。但这些聪明的昆虫已经解决了这个问题，它们会消化木材中的一种叫做纤维素的物质，并把它喂给同伴。
Most termites never leave the nests; it’s only ever the kings and queens, and what really amazes me is that, even in their larval stage, potential kings and queens have much larger and more advanced optic lobes so that they’re able to cope with the bright lights outside the nest.
大多数白蚁从不离开巢穴；只有国王和王后，真正让我惊讶的是，即使在幼虫阶段，潜在的国王和王后也有更大、更先进的视叶，这样他们就能够应对巢穴外的明亮光线。
6. Dung beetles
粪甲虫（也叫蜣螂、屎壳郎）
The navigational skills of the dung beetle could even rival your sat nav since they use both the sun and the stars to find their way around.
蜣螂的导航技能甚至可以与你的卫星导航相媲美，因为它们利用太阳和恒星来寻找方向。
Most people think that dung beetles are pretty gross, and you wouldn’t be far wrong. After all, they use dung to build nests, attract a mate, and they even eat it! But just because they have this weird lifestyle, it doesn’t mean they’re not intelligent.
大多数人认为蜣螂很恶心，你也不会大错特错。毕竟，它们用粪便筑巢、吸引配偶，甚至吃掉它！但仅仅因为他们有这种奇怪的生活方式，并不意味着他们不聪明。
In fact, the navigational skills of the dung beetle could even rival your sat nav since they use both the sun and the stars to find their way around. Their ability to navigate using the stars is the first recorded example in the insect kingdom, and they’re even able to do it when the sky is cloudy or there’s no moon.
事实上，蜣螂的导航技能甚至可以与你的卫星导航相媲美，因为它们利用太阳和恒星来寻找方向。它们利用恒星导航的能力是昆虫王国中第一个有记录的例子，它们甚至能够在天空多云或没有月亮的时候做到这一点。
But they don’t have particularly good vision and instead rely on the light cues from the stars to keep their dung balls moving in the right direction. Even more impressive is that they’re able to memorize the orientation of the stars to use for future navigation.
但它们没有特别好的视力，而是依靠恒星的光线来保持粪球朝着正确的方向移动。更令人印象深刻的是，它们能够记住恒星的方向，以用于未来的导航。
And it doesn’t end there; dung beetles are known to be able to solve complex problems, including finding the best path to the most viable food sources. It’s reported that they’re actually aware that a straight line usually provides the best route. What’s more, they’ll retain this important information to help them find good food sources in the future.
而且它并没有就此结束；众所周知，蜣螂能够解决复杂的问题，包括找到通往最可行食物来源的最佳途径。据报道，他们实际上知道直线通常是最好的路线。更重要的是，他们将保留这些重要信息，以帮助他们在未来找到良好的食物来源。
Dung beetles are also very effective communicators. They use various methods, including pheromones and visual cues, which enable them to find a mate and defend their territory. This is particularly important as competition between males can become quite fierce.
蜣螂也是非常有效的沟通者。它们使用各种方法，包括信息素和视觉线索，这使它们能够找到伴侣并保卫自己的领土。这一点尤为重要，因为雄性之间的竞争可能会变得非常激烈。
7. Wasps
黄蜂
Wasps have the ability to distinguish faces, allowing them to determine whether an individual is a threat or not.
黄蜂具有区分面部的能力，使它们能够确定一个人是否构成威胁。
Wasps are often seen as pests, but when you look a little closer, you’ll see that they’re fascinating creatures with excellent cognition. One of the most amazing things about wasps is their ability to distinguish faces among their peers, allowing them to determine whether an individual is a threat or not. But this isn’t something they’ve always been able to do, and scientists think that it’s a trait that’s only developed in the last few thousand years in paper wasps.
黄蜂通常被视为害虫，但当你仔细观察时，你会发现它们是具有出色认知能力的迷人生物。黄蜂最令人惊奇的事情之一是它们能够区分同龄人的面孔，使它们能够确定一个人是否构成威胁。但这并不是他们一直都能做到的，科学家们认为这是胡峰在过去几千年里才发展起来的一种特征。
Just like their cousins, bees, wasps are incredibly good navigators and are able to find their way home using various methods such as the sun and landmarks. They’ll also use their sense of smell to locate their nest. Once they reach home, this social species uses a variety of communication methods, including pheromones and visual signals, which allow them to tell others about good food sources. They’ll also use their communication skills to attract a mate and as a method of defending their home.
就像它们的表亲蜜蜂一样，黄蜂是非常好的航海家，能够使用各种方法（如太阳和地标）找到回家的路。它们也会用嗅觉来定位巢穴。一旦它们回到家，这种社会物种就会使用各种交流方式，包括信息素和视觉信号，这使它们能够告诉别人好的食物来源。它们还将利用自己的沟通技巧来吸引伴侣，并以此作为保卫家园的一种方法。
I find it really impressive that, beyond humans and birds, wasps are some of the only animals that have been observed to display logical reasoning. In studies, wasps were placed in an enclosure that had an electrified floor (only gentle shocks were delivered.) There were two colors, one of which was a safe zone, and the wasps displayed the ability to determine which areas were safe.
我发现令人印象深刻的是，除了人类和鸟类，黄蜂是唯一被观察到具有逻辑推理能力的动物之一。在研究中，黄蜂被放置在一个有带电地板的围栏里（只施加轻微的电击）。有两种颜色，其中一种是安全区，黄蜂表现出确定哪些区域是安全的能力。
8. Fruit flies
果蝇
Researchers believe that these tiny flying insects are even able to think before they act.
研究人员认为，这些微小的飞行昆虫甚至能够在行动前思考。
Fruit flies have very tiny brains that contain around 200,000 neurons. That’s far less than a human, but it doesn’t stop them from being incredibly smart. In fact, researchers believe that these tiny flying insects are even able to think before they act.
果蝇的大脑非常小，大约有20万个神经元。这远远低于人类，但这并不能阻止他们变得非常聪明。事实上，研究人员认为，这些微小的飞行昆虫甚至能够在行动前思考。
On top of this, fruit flies are very effective communicators, and they possess an ability that’s not seen in any other insect; they’re able to ‘talk’ to other species of fruit fly. It’s pretty amazing that these flies can learn the ‘language’ of other fruit fly species in order to warn them about threats. While they use vibrational patterns instead of vocal language, it’s been demonstrated that there’s even a specific part of the brain that’s responsible for helping them learn these new dialects.
除此之外，果蝇是非常有效的沟通者，它们具有其他昆虫所没有的能力；它们能够与其他种类的果蝇“对话”。令人惊讶的是，这些苍蝇可以学习其他果蝇物种的“语言”，以警告它们受到威胁。虽然他们使用振动模式而不是有声语言，但已经证明，大脑中甚至有一个特定的部分负责帮助他们学习这些新方言。
Studies have also shown that fruit flies may have similar memory and learning capabilities to mammals. In tests, they were trained to determine a negative heat stimulus image and were successfully able to learn which images to avoid and which ones were safe.
研究还表明，果蝇可能具有与哺乳动物相似的记忆和学习能力。在测试中，他们接受了确定负热刺激图像的训练，并成功地学会了避免哪些图像以及哪些图像是安全的。
9. Cockroaches
蟑螂
During studies, researchers trained cockroaches to salivate when exposed to certain stimuli.
在研究过程中，研究人员训练蟑螂在受到某些刺激时分泌唾液。
Like wasps, cockroaches are often seen as pests and they’re known for their remarkable ability to withstand trauma and still survive. However, it’s not just their physical abilities that make them an impressive species, cockroaches are also pretty smart.
像黄蜂一样，蟑螂也经常被视为害虫，它们以能够承受创伤并仍然存活而闻名。然而，不仅仅是它们的身体能力使它们成为一个令人印象深刻的物种，蟑螂也很聪明。
During studies, researchers trained cockroaches to salivate when exposed to certain stimuli. What’s interesting about this is that, in order to develop a reflexive reaction like this, an organism must have a certain degree of cognition. Because of the results of this study, scientists have declared cockroaches to have the same level of intelligence as a dog! They’re even thought to have individual personalities.
在研究过程中，研究人员训练蟑螂在受到某些刺激时分泌唾液。有趣的是，为了产生这样的反射性反应，生物体必须有一定程度的认知。由于这项研究的结果，科学家们宣布蟑螂的智力水平与狗相同！他们甚至被认为具有独特的个性。
There’s even evidence to suggest that the antimicrobial compounds in cockroach brains could be used to treat bacterial infections like E-coli!
甚至有证据表明，蟑螂大脑中的抗菌化合物可用于治疗大肠杆菌等细菌感染！
But while they’re intelligent, it appears that cockroaches perform better at learning and memory at certain times of the day. During tests where cockroaches were trained to associate the smell of peppermint with a sweet treat, those trained in the evening performed better than those trained earlier in the day. What’s more, further studies revealed that individual cockroaches have their own learning styles, just like humans.
但是，虽然蟑螂很聪明，但似乎它们在一天中的某些时候在学习和记忆方面表现更好。在测试中，蟑螂被训练将薄荷的气味与甜食联系起来，晚上训练的蟑螂比白天早些时候训练的蟑螂表现更好。更重要的是，进一步的研究表明，个体蟑螂和人类一样有自己的学习方式。
10. Jumping spiders
跳蜘蛛（也叫跳蛛、蝇虎）
Jumping spiders have auditory cells that connect to their brains, allowing them to pick up on sounds.
跳蛛的听觉细胞与它们的大脑相连，使它们能够感知声音。
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m hugely arachnophobic. But just because I don’t want to share my personal space with spiders, that doesn’t mean I don’t find them massively interesting. The intelligence of the jumping spider, a member of the Salticidae family, is one reason I’m so fascinated with them.
我会第一个承认我非常害怕蜘蛛。但仅仅因为我不想和蜘蛛分享我的个人空间，这并不意味着我不觉得它们很有趣。跳蛛是跳蛛科的一员，它的智慧是我对它们如此着迷的原因之一。
Have you seen the many videos on TikTok of people that keep jumping spiders as pets? If you have, you’ll have noticed how these insects have their own personalities and seemingly form bonds with their owners.
你在TikTok上看过很多人把跳蛛当宠物的视频吗？如果你有，你会注意到这些昆虫有自己的个性，似乎与它们的主人形成了联系。
In terms of communication, jumping spiders are unable to hear because they don’t have ears. But they are able to pick up on subtle vibrations. They even have auditory cells that connect to their brains, allowing them to pick up on sounds happening more than 10 feet (3 meters) away. They also have visual cells that allow them a 360 degree view of the world despite having a brain the size of a poppy seed. Plus, it’s thought that the vision of a jumping spider is only 5 to 10 times worse than that of a human, and they’re able to distinguish between moving and non-moving objects.
在交流方面，跳蛛无法听到声音，因为它们没有耳朵。但它们能够捕捉到微妙的振动。他们甚至有与大脑相连的听觉细胞，使他们能够接收到10英尺（3米）外发生的声音。尽管他们的大脑只有罂粟籽那么大，但他们也有视觉细胞，可以360度全方位地观察世界。此外，人们认为跳蛛的视力只比人类差5到10倍，而且它们能够区分移动和不移动的物体。
Couple this impressive eyesight with the fact that jumping spiders are able to come up with strategic hunting techniques and will learn from trial and error, and it’s easy to see why they’re one of the most intelligent insects on the planet.
将这种令人印象深刻的视力与跳蛛能够想出战略狩猎技巧并从反复试验中学习的事实相结合，就很容易理解为什么它们是地球上最聪明的昆虫之一。
From bugs to bytes: leveraging insect intelligence in technology
从昆虫到字节：在技术中利用昆虫智能
Leveraging insect intelligence in technology
在技术中利用昆虫智能
When you think about technology, your mind may not immediately go to insects, but researchers have been looking at how insect intelligence could inspire human technology. They’ve been looking into the different ways that these tiny critters process information and solve problems. As a result of this, there’s the potential for humans to develop effective and efficient algorithms for certain types of technology like robotics and artificial intelligence.
当你想到技术时，你的大脑可能不会立即想到昆虫，但研究人员一直在研究昆虫智能如何激发人类技术。他们一直在研究这些微小生物处理信息和解决问题的不同方式。因此，人类有可能为机器人和人工智能等特定类型的技术开发有效和高效的算法。
For example, by looking at the brains of insects and the way that they navigate through complex environments, researchers may be able to apply this same tech to robotics. There are currently some robots that are able to mimic insect behaviors, like flying, which allows them to navigate tight spaces.
例如，通过观察昆虫的大脑及其在复杂环境中的导航方式，研究人员可能能够将这项技术应用于机器人技术。目前有一些机器人能够模仿昆虫的行为，比如飞行，这使它们能够在狭小的空间内导航。
There has also been research into the way that the fruit fly brain works and how it converts sensory information into an ability to locate food, which could inspire the development of future AI models.
人们还研究了果蝇大脑的工作方式，以及它如何将感官信息转化为定位食物的能力，这可能会激发未来人工智能模型的发展。
Another interesting study is taking place after one scientist received a grant to look at how insect memory works which she intends to apply to robotics. In these studies, she is looking at how nanorobotics could benefit from the limited mass but still be able to learn and perform efficiently.
另一项有趣的研究正在进行中，此前一位科学家获得了一项资助，研究昆虫记忆是如何工作的，她打算将其应用于机器人技术。在这些研究中，她正在研究纳米机器人如何从有限的质量中受益，但仍然能够高效地学习和执行。
Moreover, this insect ability for precise navigation could also be applied to the technological workings of autonomous vehicles. If this technology is to advance to the point of being commonly used, the sensory and cognitive methods used by insects could be the way forward. This would work by comparing the power of cognition to the mass of the insect’s brain and applying this to very small yet efficient autonomous robots.
此外，这种昆虫精确导航的能力也可以应用于自动驾驶汽车的技术工作。如果这项技术要发展到普遍使用的程度，昆虫使用的感官和认知方法可能是前进的方向。这将通过将认知能力与昆虫大脑的质量进行比较，并将其应用于非常小但高效的自主机器人来实现。
There’s also hope for the future that humans will be able to create swarm robots that are designed to work together to solve problems such as making repairs, and this technology is being inspired by the way that insects, like bees, swarm in nature.
未来也有希望人类能够创造出群体机器人，这些机器人旨在共同解决维修等问题，这项技术的灵感来自蜜蜂等昆虫在自然界中的聚集方式。
【Source】www.natureroamer.com
【Translated by】Spark Liao (廖怀宝)
【Illustration】From Bing
