評論
打印
Silkworms have been bred over thousands of years to behave quite unlike their caterpillarcousins in the wild.
蠶這種動物已經(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。
That's because people purposely breed silkworms to fit this job description:
因?yàn)槿祟惞室馀囵B(yǎng)蠶，使得它們能夠適應(yīng)這樣的工作崗位：
WANTED–Superlative silk producers.
誠聘：招優(yōu)秀的產(chǎn)絲工。
Benefits include housing, unlimited food and protection fromall predators.
福利包括住房、包吃包喝、不受天敵威脅。
Wanderlust greatly discouraged. No opportunity for travel.
不歡迎旅游迷。沒有出差機(jī)會。
Obviously, what makes a good silk producer in captivity is very different from what helps a caterpillar survive in the wild.
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非常不同。
Commercial silkworms are dynamos at silk production, andcompared to their wild relatives, rather sluggish about everything else.
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都很遲緩。
Outdoors, you've probably seen caterpillars crawling to find food or hide from birds, butcommercial silkworm caterpillars hardly move.
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。
For silk production, they're kept on open traysbecause they're content to stay put, as long as they have a steady supply of mulberry leaves.
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)，它們就會滿足于一動不動地呆著。
Even when they reach the moth stage, commercial silkworms are surprisingly immobile.
即使商用蠶蛻變成蛾子，它們的活動力也驚人地弱。
Wildmoths fly to evade predators and to lay their eggs in different areas.
野生的蛾子會到處飛，以躲避天敵并且把卵產(chǎn)在不同的地方。
However, commercial silkworm moths haven't needed to do these things for thousands of years.
但是，從上千年前開始，商用蠶的蛾子就不用做這些事情了。
They've completelylost the ability to fly, even though they still have wings!
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.
還有一處不同。
In the wild, moths are often very particular about where they'll lay eggs.
野外的蛾子通常對產(chǎn)卵地點(diǎn)很挑剔。
This ensures that baby caterpillars can chomp their favorite leaves as soon as they hatch.
這可以保證它們的幼蟲一孵化就能吃到喜歡吃的樹葉。
Commercial silkworm moths have lost that instinct too.
商用蠶的蛾子連這種本能也喪失了。
They'll even lay eggs on a sheet of paper,where it's easy for humans to keep track of them.
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。
