A simple way to tell insects apart

區(qū)分昆蟲的簡單方法

來源視頻

A whip-like straw.

Powerful, crushing blades.

A pointed, piercing tube.

There are nearly a million ?known insect species in the world,

but most have one of just ?five common types of mouthparts.

彎曲、鞭子般的長管。

破壞力強(qiáng)大的爪子。

尖銳的刺管。

在這個(gè)世界上有著 數(shù)以百萬種的昆蟲物種，

然而多數(shù)昆蟲都離不開 五種最普遍的口器。

And that’s extremely useful to scientists

because when they encounter ?an unfamiliar insect in the wild,

they can learn a lot about it ?just by examining how it eats.

Scientific classification, or taxonomy,

is used to organize all ?living things into seven levels:

kingdom,?phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species.

The features of an insect’s mouthparts can help identify which order it belongs to,

while also providing clues about how ?it evolved and what it feeds on.

而這樣的特征對(duì)科學(xué)家來說就很有幫助，

因?yàn)楫?dāng)他們發(fā)現(xiàn)了 一種他們不熟悉的新昆蟲物種時(shí)，

就能通過觀察它們吃東西的方式 來很好的對(duì)它們進(jìn)行研究。

科學(xué)分類，更準(zhǔn)確的說：“生物學(xué)分類”，

是用?7?個(gè)級(jí)別來分類所有的生物的：

界、門、綱、目、科、屬、還有種。

而昆蟲口器的特征就能 幫助我們定位它屬于哪一個(gè)目，

同時(shí)也能告訴我們它如何進(jìn)化 以及它的食物來源。

The chewing mouthpart is the most common.

It’s also the most primitive—

all other mouthparts are thought to have ?started out looking like this one

before evolving into something different.

It features a pair ?of jaws called mandibles

with toothed inner edges that cut up ?and crush solid foods,

like leaves or other insects.

咀嚼式口器是最常見的一種類型。

這也是最為原始的一種類型——

其它所有的口器都被認(rèn)為

是從這一種的模樣進(jìn)化而來的。

它具有的特征就是 這樣一對(duì)爪子模樣的下頜骨，

在其內(nèi)側(cè)有著用來碾碎、咀嚼用的牙齒，

通常吃的東西是 樹葉或者是其它的昆蟲。

You can find this mouthpart ?on ants from the Hymenoptera order,

grasshoppers and crickets ?of the Orthoptera order,

dragonflies of the Odonata order,

and beetles of the Coleoptera order.

這樣的口器你可以在膜翅目的螞蟻身上找到，

直翅目的蚱蜢，

蜻蜓目的蜻蜓，

和鞘翅目的甲蟲。

The piercing-sucking mouthpart consists of a long, tube-like structure called a beak.

This beak can pierce plant ?or animal tissue

to suck up liquids like sap or blood.

It can also secrete saliva ?with digestive enzymes

that liquefy food for easier sucking.

第二種是刺吸式口器， 由一支叫做喙的長管組成。

這支喙可以刺入植物和動(dòng)物組織

來吸取植物液或者是血液。

它同時(shí)也可以分泌出具有消化酶的唾液

來更好的消化食物以幫助吸取。

Insects in the Hemiptera order ?have piercing-sucking mouthparts

and include bed bugs,

cicadas,

aphids,

and leafhoppers.

半翅類的昆蟲就具有這樣刺吸式的口器，

其中包括臭蟲、

蟬、

蚜蟲、

葉蟬。

The siphoning mouthpart,

a friendlier version ?of the piercing and sucking beak,

also consists of a long, tube-like ?structure called a proboscis

that works like a straw ?to suck up nectar from flowers.

虹吸式口器，

一種比較友好一點(diǎn)的刺吸式口器，

也是由一根稱作長嘴的的管狀組織構(gòu)成，

它就像一根吸管一樣吸取花中的花蜜。

Insects of the Lepidoptera order—

butterflies and moths—

keep their proboscises rolled up tightly beneath their heads

when they’re not feeding

and unfurl them when ?they come across some sweet nectar.

鱗翅類的昆蟲——

蝴蝶或者是蛾——

當(dāng)它們不在進(jìn)食時(shí)

就會(huì)把口器緊緊 卷起來收在它們的頭部下方，

而當(dāng)它們開始吸食花蜜時(shí)就會(huì)將其展開。

With the sponging mouthpart, there’s yet another tube,

this time ending in two spongy lobes

that contain many finer ?tubes called pseudotracheae.

The pseudotracheae secrete ?enzyme-filled saliva

and soak up fluids ?and dissolved foods by capillary action.

House flies,

fruit flies,

and the other non-biting ?members of the Diptera order

are the only insects ?that use this technique.

舔吸式口器，另外一種喙管，

不過這次末端是兩個(gè)海綿似得垂體，

其中包含了許多很細(xì)的管子，叫做擬氣管。

擬氣管通過毛細(xì)管作用來分泌充滿酶的唾液，

滲入它們的食物。

家蠅、

果蠅、

以及許多其它雙翅目不叮咬的昆蟲，

都是使用這一方式的昆蟲。

But, there’s a catch.

Biting flies within Diptera,

like mosquitoes,

horse flies,

and deer flies,

have a piercing-sucking mouthpart ?instead of the sponging mouthpart.

不過，有一個(gè)問題。

雙翅目中會(huì)叮咬的昆蟲，

例如蚊子、

馬蠅、

鹿虻、

是有著刺吸式的口器而非舔吸式的。

And finally, the chewing-lapping mouthpart is a combination of mandibles

and a proboscis with a tongue-like ?structure at its tip

for lapping up nectar.

On this type of mouthpart,

the mandibles themselves ?are not actually used for eating.

For bees and wasps, members of the Hymenoptera order,

they serve instead as tools ?for pollen-collecting and wax-molding.

最后，嚼吸式口器， 是一種像舌頭般的由下頜鉗

和前段喙管結(jié)合而成的口器，

這樣的構(gòu)造是為了舔食花蜜。

在這種類型的口器中，

下頜鉗其實(shí)并沒有在進(jìn)食中被使用到。

對(duì)于屬于膜翅類的蜜蜂和黃蜂，

這一部分的器官更多會(huì) 作用于花粉的采集和蜂巢的模制。

Of course, in nature, there are always ?exceptions to the rules.

The juvenile stages of some insects, ?for example,

have completely different kinds ?of mouths than their adult versions,

like caterpillars, which use chewing ?mouthparts to devour leaves

before metamorphosing into butterflies and moths

with siphoning mouthparts.

當(dāng)然，在自然中，總還是會(huì)有許多例外。

例如許多昆蟲的幼蟲時(shí)期，

有著和成年時(shí)期完全不同的口器類型，

比如毛蟲在變成蝴蝶和飛蛾之前

會(huì)用咀嚼式口器來吞食葉子，

而蝴蝶和飛蛾則是虹吸式口器。

Still, mouthpart identification can, ?for the most part,

help scientists—and you —categorize insects.

So why not break out a magnifying lens

and learn a little more about who’s nibbling your vegetable garden,

biting your arm,

or just flying by your ear.

然而，口器的識(shí)別在很大程度上

還是能夠幫助科學(xué)家—— 包括你——來分類昆蟲噠。

所以為什么不趕快開始拿出一個(gè)放大鏡

來多研究一下到底是誰在啃你菜園的菜，

誰在叮你的胳膊，

或者說是誰在你耳邊飛過。