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Ladybugs love to snack on aphids and other pests. So people began importing an Asian species called the harlequin ladybird as natural pest control. But in their new environments, the harlequins wiped out native ladybugs. And they have their parasites to thank. That's according to research in the journal Science.
瓢蟲喜歡吃蚜蟲以及其它害蟲。因此人們開始引進(jìn)一種稱作“小丑瓢蟲”的亞洲物種，以此作為控制自然蟲害的手段。但是在新環(huán)境中，小丑瓢蟲卻消滅了本地的瓢蟲，這要?dú)w因于小丑瓢蟲帶來的寄生蟲。這是根據(jù)《科學(xué)》雜志發(fā)表的文章得出的結(jié)論。
A parasite called microsporidia lies dormant in the circulatory systems of harlequin ladybirds. But when scientists injected microsporidia into a common European ladybug species, the insects died within two weeks. When the ladybugs were injected with dead microsporidia or a control substance most survived.
這種叫做“微孢子蟲”的寄生蟲潛藏在小丑瓢蟲的循環(huán)系統(tǒng)內(nèi)。然而，當(dāng)科學(xué)家向普通的歐洲瓢蟲體內(nèi)植入微孢子蟲時(shí)，不出兩個(gè)星期它們就死亡了。當(dāng)植入死的微孢子蟲或者對照物質(zhì)時(shí)，大多數(shù)都存活了。
Harlequin ladybirds' immune systems, on the other hand, have learned to deal with microsporidia—which lets the insects use them as biological weapons. Because one way ladybugs compete is by consuming the eggs and larvae of rival species. When European ladybug species eat the harlequin ladybird eggs and larvae, they also consume the microsporidia. And die.
另一方面，小丑瓢蟲的免疫系統(tǒng)已經(jīng)學(xué)會了如何處理微孢子蟲，這讓瓢蟲把它們作為生化武器。因?yàn)槠跋x的一種競爭手段是吃對手的卵或者幼蟲。當(dāng)歐洲的瓢蟲吃小丑瓢蟲的卵和幼蟲的同時(shí)，也吃掉了微孢子蟲。然后它們就會死。
The discovery demonstrates an important role of immunity in evolutionary selection. And it shows that there are many ways to lose a food fight.
這項(xiàng)發(fā)現(xiàn)說明免疫系統(tǒng)在進(jìn)化選擇中扮演了重要的角色，也證實(shí)了在食物大戰(zhàn)中被打敗有許多因素作怪。
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