評論
打印
Survival Of The Sluggish
緩慢的生存
Silkworms have been bred over thousands of years to behave quite unlike their caterpillar cousins in the wild. That's because people purposely breed silkworms to fit this job description:
蠶這種動(dòng)物已經(jīng)被人類豢養(yǎng)了上千年，這使得它們的行為遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)異于野外的毛毛蟲同類們。因?yàn)槿祟惞室馀囵B(yǎng)蠶，使得他們能夠適應(yīng)這樣的工作崗位：
WANTED–Superlative silk producers. Benefits include housing, unlimited food and protection from all predators. Wanderlust greatly discouraged. No opportunity for travel.
誠聘：招優(yōu)秀的產(chǎn)絲工。福利包括住房、包吃包喝、不受天敵威脅。不歡迎旅游迷。沒有出差機(jī)會(huì)。
Obviously, what makes a good silk producer in captivity is very different from what helps a caterpillar survive in the wild. Commercial silkworms are dynamos at silk production, and compared to their wild relatives, rather sluggish about everything else.
很明顯，造就人工飼養(yǎng)的產(chǎn)絲能手的條件跟讓野生毛毛蟲在野外生存的能力會(huì)非常不同。跟它們的野生同類相比，商用蠶在產(chǎn)絲方面是能手，但在其他任何方面的行動(dòng)都很遲緩。
Outdoors, you’ve probably seen caterpillars crawling to find food or hide from birds, but commercial silkworm caterpillars hardly move. For silk production, they're kept on open trays because they're content to stay put, as long as they have a steady supply of mulberry leaves. Even when they reach the moth stage, commercial silkworms are surprisingly immobile. Wild moths fly to evade predators and to lay their eggs in different areas. However, commercial silkworm moths haven't needed to do these things for thousands of years. They've completely lost the ability to fly, even though they still have wings!
在戶外，你可能見過毛毛蟲爬來爬去尋找食物或躲避鳥類，但是商用蠶幼蟲很少活動(dòng)。為了產(chǎn)絲，這些蠶就被放在敞口的匾上，因?yàn)橹灰谐渥愕纳Ｈ~供應(yīng)，它們就 會(huì)滿足于一動(dòng)不動(dòng)地呆著。即使商用蠶蛻變成蛾子，它們的活動(dòng)力也驚人地弱。野生的蛾子會(huì)到處飛，以躲避天敵并且把卵產(chǎn)在不同的地方。但是，從上千年前開 始，商用蠶的蛾子就不用做這些事情了。即使它們?nèi)匀挥谐岚颍鼈円惨褜ν耆珕适Я孙w行的能力。
Here's another difference. In the wild, moths are often very particular about where they'll lay eggs. This ensures that baby caterpillars can chomp their favorite leaves as soon as they hatch. Commercial silkworm moths have lost that instinct too. They'll even lay eggs on a sheet of paper, where it's easy for humans to keep track of them.
還有一處不同。野外的蛾子通常對產(chǎn)卵地點(diǎn)很挑剔。這可以保證它們的幼蟲一孵化就能吃到喜歡吃的樹葉。商用蠶的蛾子連這種本能也喪失了。它們甚至?xí)诩垙埳袭a(chǎn)卵，對于人類來說可以很方便的找到它們。
