060 Become the Bridge
Hey Weaver Ant, to pull two leaf edges together you make a chain of your own bodies across the gap, and you hold on until the nest is stitched.
Who becomes the bridge themselves?
When there is a gap, do you look for a bridge, or become one?
On a mango tree, two leaves hang a little apart. A line of red ants reaches out from one leaf, body holding body, into the air.
The chain reaches the other leaf. Slowly, together, they pull the two edges close.
What really happens
Weaver ants build nests by pulling living leaves together. When the gap is too wide, they form chains with their own bodies to bridge it.
Other workers then hold larvae against the leaf edges. The larvae give out silk that glues the leaves together.
How we know: Weaver ant (Oecophylla) nest-building has been studied for decades by insect researchers.
The turn
When there is a gap at work or at home, we wait for someone to build a bridge.
The weaver ant becomes the bridge, and holds on until the job is done.
Three takeaways
- Sometimes the bridge has to be you.
- Hold on until the work is finished.
- Small bodies together can close big gaps.
Be the bridge. Hold until it's stitched.
Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.