最佳觀察獎 最佳觀察獎
掛紅燈籠的順風車
Hitchhiker and Red Lanterns
作者 | 單文瑞
#昆蟲與蜘蛛
科學圖說 Introduction
在大自然中,生物不是單獨存在的,之間有著各種各樣的關係,如:絨蟎會寄生於直翅目、半翅目昆蟲。對於人類來說,直翅目的蝗蟲、半翅目的蝽都是農業害蟲,所以絨蟎就有了生物防治的作用。我在森林的步行道旁,見到這隻喜歡樺樹的直同蝽,頭、胸、腹、足上都寄生了絨蟎,圓圓紅紅的,就像掛了紅燈籠,很好看。直同蝽的背上,有隻黑色的植食性小幼蟲,是一隻金花蟲的幼蟲。牠並沒有打算下來,而一直在蝽的背上溜達,是準備一直跟著直同蝽,直到直同蝽找到可口的植物嗎?看來小幼蟲是搭順風車的呀!
In nature, no organism exists alone. Instead, various relationships are formed. For example, red velvet mites parasitize insects of the orders Orthoptera and Hemiptera. Locusts of the order Orthoptera and stink bugs of the order Hemiptera are agricultural pests. Therefore, these mites can be used for biological control. Walking along a forest trail, I saw this stink bug of the genus Elasmostethus, which prefers birch trees, with mites on its head, thorax, abdomen, and feet. Round and red, they looked like tiny lanterns. On its back was a small black herbivorous larva (leaf beetle larva). This little larva seemed to be hitchhiking! Was it ready for the stink bug to take it to a delicious plant?