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A single shower can enable seeds that have lain dormant for 30 years or more to burst into life.
一場大雨使得在地下沉睡了30多年的種子迸發出生命的活力
And there hasn't been a bloom like this one for a century.
這里已有一個世紀沒有像現在這樣開滿鮮花
The periods of boom in Death Valley are short
死亡谷中的花期很短
but they're just frequent enough to keep life ticking over.
但它們發生的次數足以保證生命長盛不衰
A sudden flush of vegetation is what every desert dweller waits for
植物的突然興盛是所有沙漠動物都盼望的事
and when it happens, they must make the most of it.
一旦發生，它們必須盡可能地利用它
There is no other species on the planet that responds as quickly and as dramatically to the good times as the desert locust.
當好日子到來時，地球上再也沒有其它物種能像沙漠蝗那樣迅速而又戲劇性地作出反應。
Eggs that have remained in the ground for 20 years begin to hatch.
在地下埋藏了20年的蟲卵開始孵化
The young locusts are known as hoppers, for at this stage they're flightless.
沙漠蝗的若蟲是跳躍能手，在這一階段，它們還不能飛。
They find new feeding grounds by following the smell of sprouting grass.
它們循著萌發的草香尋找新的用餐場所
Normally it takes four weeks for hoppers to become adults.
一般說來，若蟲需要經過4周才能變成成蟲
But when the conditions are right, as now, their development switches to the fast track.
但如果條件允許，譬如現在，它們的生長過程就會切換到快車道。
As the vegetation in one place begins to run out,
當一個地方的植物即將吃光時
the winged adults release pheromones, scent messages,
長著翅膀的成蟲便釋放出信息素，即一些氣味信號
which tell others in the group that they must move on.
提醒蝗群中的其它成員它們應該動身了
And when groups merge, they form a swarm.
蝗群合并之后形成了一團蝗蟲云。
