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Unlike us lucky endotherms, insects can't regulate their own body temperatures.
不像我们能幸运的成为恒温动物 昆虫不能调节他们自身温度
They're at the mercy of their environment. So when the cold winter arrives, how do they keep from freezing?
它们需要环境的垂怜 因此 寒冷的冬季到来时 它们如何抵御严寒
They basically have three choices: They can leave for warmer places, they can wait it out, or they can kick the bucket.
它们基本上有3种选择 它们到温暖的地方去 它们可以等待 否则它们将面对死亡
Just like some birds, there are a few insects, like dragonflies or butterflies, fly south for the winter.
正像有些鸟儿 还有几种昆虫 像蜻蜓或者蝴蝶 飞到南方过冬
The most famous of these has got to be the monarch butterfly.
这里有名的就是黑脉金斑蝶了
There's a population that normally lives in the northern U.S. and Canada,
这些种群通常生活在美国南部和加拿大地区
but spends the winter in the balmy mountain forests of Mexico.
但是在冬天 它们会生活在温和宜人的墨西哥山林之中
Of course, many insects have shorter lives than birds.
当然 许多昆虫生命周期都要比鸟儿更短
So, a special migratory generation of the monarchs flies south thousands of miles to Mexico without reproducing,
当然 有些特殊的族群比如黑脉金斑蝶向南可以飞翔上千里地到墨西哥不需要再繁殖
but it takes four or five generations to make the trip back north.
但是却需要花费四代或五代族群才能返回北方
If an insect can't leave when winter arrives, option number two is to hunker down and wait for things to warm up again.
当冬天来临时 若是昆虫不能离开 面临两种选择 要不待着不动 要不到温暖的地方重新生活
Insects like ladybugs, emerald ash borers, and mourning cloak butterflies burrow into soil or leaf litter for warmth.
像瓢虫 翡翠灰螟 以及 喜欢探查洞穴土壤或落叶的黄缘峡蝶
There, these adult insects enter a kind of hibernation called diapause,
这些成年昆虫进入一种 被叫做昆虫滞育期的冬眠
thanks to hormones triggered by the shorter days and cooler temperatures of autumn.
这得归功于秋天更冷的温度和日渐缩短的白昼
Their metabolic rates drop dramatically, so they don't need as much food.
它们的新陈代谢率显著地降低 以至于它们不需要太多的食物就能成活
And some species even pump their tissues full of alcohols that act as a natural antifreeze.
有些特别的种类甚至在它们的身体组织中充满类似于天然防冻剂的醇类物质
Basically, these chemicals lower the freezing point inside their cells, which prevents damaging ice crystals from forming.
总的说来 这些化学物质在它们的细胞中的温度要低于冰冻点 以防冰晶体形成过程中造成的损害
Now, plenty of insects, like crickets and grasshoppers, just throw in the towel when the temperature drops.
现在 大量昆虫 像是蟋蟀和蚂蚱 当温度降低时就会停止抗争
The adults die off after reproducing in the fall, and the next generation spends the winter as dormant eggs or larvae.
成年昆虫在秋天产卵然后死亡 而过冬的则是下一代昆虫个体 它们以休眠卵或是昆虫幼体的形式生存
These babies are usually pretty well-equipped for survival: Eggs and larvae can enter diapause just like adults can,
这些个体通常都能很好的生存 这些虫卵和幼体能够进入昆虫滞育期 就像成年昆虫所能做到的那样
and some get extra help from their doomed parents.
并且能从它们那注定死去的父母那里得到额外的帮助
Praying mantises, for example, envelop their eggs in a foam-like protective protein case.
举例来说 螳螂 就能够制造泡沫状保护蛋白外壳来保护幼体
These days, climate change is messing with the overwintering strategies of some insects.
这些年 气候的变化弄乱了一些昆虫的过冬策略
And it's even letting some less cold-tolerant species venture farther north. Which … usually isn't so great.
甚至让一些不那么耐寒的物种向北方迁移 这并不是个好现象
Like, thanks to milder winters, the mountain pine beetle has been expanding its range
例如 暖冬使松甲虫扩大生存范围
and killing vast swaths of trees in western North America.
并且毁灭了美国西北部地区的大量松树林
So when it gets cold out, do you put on a coat and keep trucking?
所以当天气变冷了的时候 你会把穿上外套 继续迁移
Curl up under a blanket with hot chocolate until spring? Or do you make like a monarch and head for the tropics?
裹着厚毯子 喝着热巧克力直到春天来临 或者是你会像开头时的帝王蝶那样往热带飞去
Whatever your way of dealing, spare a thought for the insects that make it work without
无论你是怎么应对的 想一想昆虫是怎样
central heating – just with some clever adaptations.
越冬的 仅仅依靠一些适应环境的特征 即同化
Thanks to Patreon patron Zach Lerman for asking, and thanks to all of our patrons who keep these answers coming.
谢谢我们的资深老顾客Zach Lerman提出问题 并且感谢所有依然 等待回答问题的顾客
If you'd like to submit questions to be answered, go to patreon.com/scishow.
若是你有一些想要解决的问题想要知道答案 那么来patreon.com/scishow网站
And don't forget to go to youtube.com/scishow and subscribe!
不要忘了去youtube.comscishow观看并订购我们的节目哦
