嗯..萬聖節到了, 我在無聊亂逛網頁時看到這一篇. 雖然平常我看到蜘蛛時是會敬而遠之的, 不過底下那部短片的蜘蛛跳舞實在太有趣了, 所以我就很快地寫下翻譯貼上來了.
Three amazing feats of spiders
蜘蛛的三種驚人技藝表演
Halloween time is spider time. Three amazing spider skills you might not have known about.
萬聖節總是有蜘蛛出場, 底下是你可能不曉得的三種蜘蛛的迷人技巧.
Spiders are one of the most successful animals that inhabit the Earth. There are about 40,000 known species of spiders, and they live everywhere from tropical rainforests to the Arctic tundra. Most people are familiar with the basic characteristics of spiders—they have eight legs, they can shoot silk out of their abdomen and frequently use it to build elaborate webs, and they prey on insects. Lesser known are these three amazing skills that some spiders have.
蜘蛛是地球上生物中最成功的物種之一. 目前已知的大約有四萬種, 從熱帶雨林到北極圈的凍土地帶都找得到蹤跡. 大部份人都很清楚蜘蛛的基本特色 -- 有八隻腳, 會從腹部吐絲而且通常會用這種絲來結出精密複雜的網子, 以昆蟲為食. 不過少有人知道某些蜘蛛還會底下這三種特殊技藝.
1. They can live underwater. The diving bell spider, which can be found in ponds across parts of Europe and Asia, lives its entire life underwater. While these spiders do breathe air, they do so by trapping the air in bubbles that are held in place by an underwater web. These structures were named diving bell webs after the antique bell-shaped equipment that people once used to explore the oceans. The spiders live inside of the bells but dart out into the water to hunt prey. Occasionally, they will travel to the surface of the pond to gather more oxygen to replenish their bells.
1. 牠能在水底下存活. 這種從歐洲到亞洲都可發現到的 水蛛 其整個生命周期都在水中進行. 不過牠們還是呼吸空氣的, 是藉由一個個困在水底下的小小的空氣泡所組成的網路來呼吸空氣. 這種構造被稱之為潛水鐘網, 因為這很像人類過去在探索海洋時用的古式鐘型裝備. 牠們在這些水中氣泡中生活不過會從氣泡中衝出以補捉獵物. 偶而還會跑到池水的表面收集更多氧氣來補充牠們的潛水鐘.
Diving bell spiders underwater. Image Credit: Norbert Schuller Baupi.
2. They can “fly” over hundreds of miles. Spiders don’t have wings, but some spiders (small ones in particular) can float over hundreds of miles by casting threads of silk into the wind. The silk gets caught up in the wind currents, and voila, the spider is now able to “fly” off to faraway places. This behavior, also known as parachuting or ballooning, helps to explain the existence of spiders on remote islands and the sudden appearance of spiders on boats out at sea.
2. 牠們可以 " 飛 " 過好幾百哩. 蜘蛛沒有翅膀不過某些蜘蛛( 特別是小隻的 )可以藉著把絲噴進風中來飄浮飛過好幾百哩. 氣流把這些蛛絲帶起, 看! 就這樣蜘蛛可以 " 飛離 " 到很遠的地方. 這種行為又稱之為 跳傘 或者 搭氣球, 或許這可以解釋為何某些遙遠的離島或者在海上的船上突然有蜘蛛的存在.
Small spider raising its abdomen to balloon away. Image Credit: Sarefo.
3. They can dance. Jumping spiders are found on every continent except for Antarctica. They have excellent vision and actively hunt for prey as opposed to trapping prey in webs. They also engage in rather elaborate courtship dances. The video below shows a male Peacock spider—a type of jumping spider that lives in Australia—getting his groove on. The leg waving and abdomen shaking are an attempt to attract the attention of a female spider.
3. 牠們會跳舞. 除了南極以外到處都有發現過跳蛛. 這種蜘蛛有極佳的視力而且這實際上是用來獵殺的, 牠們不用結網補捉的方式. 除此之外還會跳優雅的求偶舞. 底下這是一隻雄性孔雀蜘蛛--一種住在澳洲的跳蛛-- 試著吸引牠的新娘的短片. 牠用揮舞的腿跟向上掀起的腹部來吸引雌蜘蛛.
This video appears courtesy of Jurgen Otto.
Have a happy Halloween!
影片由 Jurgen Otto提供.
萬聖節快樂 !
