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A variety of structural elements can be discerned in these patterns.
The simplest is the ant, encased in its 
square, which is
almost freestanding. Except for the guiding bit or bits which is
required to lead it, it can exist in isolation, or it can be stacked
with other ants either in a single file or staggered in various ways.
Wider strips are required to display the full variability possible.
Figures flow along channels according to the next most restrictive format. The channel boundaries can be stabilized with castellations, supporting blocks, and various other ways which are not evident when translational symmetry is restricted to a single cell of displacement. Some figures can be packed side by side within their channels, and sometimes they can be packed with relative displacements.
Finally there are figures which cannot be interrupted at all, preserving their integrity only when they fill the entire infinite strip or form a periodic pattern on a torus of appropriate length.