时差N小时 毛虫自卫战

I could have sworn that I heard a strange tapping sound inmy house last night.

我发誓昨天晚上在家里我听到了很奇怪的敲打声。

It was faint but chilling. I think there mustbe a ghost in my house.

那个声音微弱至极，但就是让人毛骨悚然。我家里是不是有鬼啊！

Do you happen to keep caterpillars², perhaps the hook-tipmoth?

该不会你正好养了毛虫，或是钩翅蛾吧？

Why? Yes, I do. I have several little creatures.

啊？嗯，我有养。我养了很多小动物。

But what does that have to do with that tappingnoise I heard?

但那跟我晚上听到的声音有什么关系呢？

That noise probably came from your caterpillars, and it probably means one of them invaded another's territory.

那个声音很可能就是你养的小毛虫发出的。很有可能是一只小虫闯进了另一只的领地。

I didn't know caterpillars were territorial³.

我都不知道毛虫还有领地呢！

Well, it turns out some are.

呃，有的是这样的。

In fact, what's odd is that the hook-tip moth's territorial behavior ismuch like that of many vertebrates, not what you'd expect in an organism like a caterpillar¹.

事实上，奇怪的是，钩翅蛾的占地行为更像是脊椎动物，并不像是你所想像的蛾类的占地行为。

These caterpillars find themselves a good leaf, and then they construct a nest of silk to protectthem while they feast.

这些毛虫为自己找到一片好叶子，然后用丝筑一个巢。

When another caterpillar intrudes⁴ upon the resident caterpillar's territory, the resident caterpillar stops eating, retreats into its nest, and it makes tapping noisesby dragging or striking its mandibles against the leaf.

在毛虫“用餐”的时候，这个巢就可以起到保护作用。当另一只毛虫闯入该毛虫的领地时，“原住民”会立即停下用餐，退回巢内，借助拖拽鄂骨或是用鄂骨敲击叶子发出敲击声，以此威胁入侵者。

What does the intruder do?

那么，入侵者又会怎么做呢？

Often the intruder makes the sound as well and may end up attacking the resident's nest bybiting through some of the silk strands⁵.

通常情况下，入侵者同样也会制造出敲击声，到最后会咬掉“原住民”巢内的部分丝线。

Caterpillars don't make this noise anywhere but in thenest, and scientists say this behavior suggests that the rivals are sizing each other up.

毛虫只会在巢内发出这样的声音。科学家指出，这是双方在衡量对方的实力。

They also suggest that the sounds may function to attract the attention of predators⁶, in which case the intruder would be rather defenseless.

同时，还指出，这种声音还会吸引来食肉动物，在这样的情况下，入侵者在防御上就会处于明显的弱势。

1 caterpillar   

n.毛虫，蝴蝶的幼虫

参考例句：

• A butterfly is produced by metamorphosis from a caterpillar.蝴蝶是由毛虫脱胎变成的。
• A caterpillar must pass through the cocoon stage to become a butterfly.毛毛虫必须经过茧的阶段才能变成蝴蝶。

2 caterpillars   

n.毛虫( caterpillar的名词复数 )；履带

参考例句：

• Caterpillars eat the young leaves of this plant. 毛毛虫吃这种植物的嫩叶。
• Caterpillars change into butterflies or moths. 毛虫能变成蝴蝶或蛾子。 来自辞典例句

3 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

4 intrudes   

v.侵入，侵扰，打扰( intrude的第三人称单数 )；把…强加于

参考例句：

• An outraged movie like Stone's intrudes upon a semipermanent mourning. 像斯通这种忿忿不平的电影侵犯到美国人近乎永恒的哀悼。 来自互联网
• He intrudes upon our hospitality. 他硬要我们款待他。 来自互联网

5 strands   

n.（线、绳、金属线、毛发等的）股( strand的名词复数 )；缕；海洋、湖或河的)岸；（观点、计划、故事等的）部份v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Twist a length of rope from strands of hemp. 用几股麻搓成了一段绳子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She laced strands into a braid. 她把几股线编织成一根穗带。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》