17年蟬就要入侵東海岸了

17年蟬就要入侵東海岸了

In many places around the United States, summer just wouldn’t be the same without the occasional hum of a cicada buzzing off the in the distance. The noisy insects are either a harmless curiosity or a total nuisance depending on what area of the country you live in and the specific species of cicada that reside there. Folks in Virginia, North Carolina and West Virginia will see far more of the bugs than usual in 2020.

在美國(guó)的許多地方，如果沒(méi)有遠(yuǎn)處偶爾傳來(lái)的蟬鳴，夏天就不一樣了。這種吵鬧的昆蟲(chóng)是一種無(wú)害的好奇物，還是完全的討厭物，這取決于你所居住的國(guó)家的地區(qū)和棲息在那里的特定種類的蟬。到2020年，維吉尼亞州、北卡羅來(lái)納州和西弗吉尼亞州的人們將會(huì)比以往看到更多的昆蟲(chóng)。

Species of periodical cicadas maintain long brood cycles, only emerging every 13 or 17 years. There are over a dozen of these types of cicada broods, and Brood IX hasn’t been seen since 2003. That means it’s going to be a very noisy summer for the counties where the bugs are destined to appear.

蟬種的發(fā)育期較長(zhǎng)，每13 ~ 17年才出現(xiàn)一次。這種類型的蟬有十多種，而第九種自2003年以來(lái)就沒(méi)有出現(xiàn)過(guò)。這意味著，對(duì)于那些注定要出現(xiàn)臭蟲(chóng)的縣來(lái)說(shuō)，今年夏天將是一個(gè)非常吵鬧的夏天。

These types of cicadas live beneath forest floors for years and years, gaining sustenance from tree roots. Then, as if conjured by some invisible force, the insects crawl out of the ground in huge numbers to perch on tree trunks and limbs in the spring, where they transition to the last stage of their life cycle.

這些蟬在森林地面下生活了很多年，從樹(shù)根中獲取食物。然后，仿佛受到某種無(wú)形的力量的召喚，這些昆蟲(chóng)成群地從地下爬出來(lái)，在春天棲息在樹(shù)干和樹(shù)枝上，在那里它們過(guò)渡到生命周期的最后階段。

Adult cicadas crawl out of their flaky shells with newly-formed wings. They spend the next month or so, and the males make a whole bunch of noise in an attempt to pair up with a female. Their adult lives are brief, and by the start of summer, the vast majority have already reproduced and died.

成年蟬用新長(zhǎng)出的翅膀從它們鱗片狀的殼里爬出來(lái)。接下來(lái)的一個(gè)月左右，雄性會(huì)發(fā)出一大堆噪音，試圖與雌性配對(duì)。它們的成年期很短，到初夏的時(shí)候，絕大多數(shù)已經(jīng)繁殖并死亡。

Eggs, typically attached to tree limbs, hatch a couple of months later. The baby cicadas, called nymphs, burrow down into the ground and the whole process begins again.

蟬卵通常附著在樹(shù)枝上，幾個(gè)月后孵化。被稱為若蟲(chóng)的小蟬在地下挖洞，整個(gè)過(guò)程又開(kāi)始了。

Not all cicadas are periodical, but the broods that emerge simultaneously on regular 13- or 17-year cycles can be a nuisance due to their large numbers. If you’re not a fan of the bugs, the good news is that they only hang around for a short while, and since we’re all sheltering in place due to the current global health crisis, they’ll probably be gone by the time we’re allowed to enjoy the summer weather anyway.

并非所有的蟬都是周期性的，但由于數(shù)量龐大，在13或17年的周期內(nèi)同時(shí)出現(xiàn)的蟬種可能會(huì)令人討厭。如果你不是蟲(chóng)子的粉絲，好消息是它們只會(huì)逗留一小段時(shí)間，而且由于目前的全球健康危機(jī)，我們都在原地隔離，等我們享受夏日的時(shí)候，它們可能已經(jīng)消失了。