Cicadas: The dormant army beneath your feet - Rose Eveleth

Cvrčci - skrivena armija pod vašim nogama - Rouz Evelet (Rose Eveleth)

Prevodilac: Mile Živković Lektor: Dejan Vicai

If you live on the east coast of the United States,

Ako živite na istočnoj obali SAD-a,

poslednjih 17 godina svog života proveli ste

you've spent the last 17 years of your life

walking, eating and sleeping

hodajući,

jedući

i spavajući

above a dormant army of insects.

iznad skrivene armije insekata.

These are the cicadas.

Ovo su cvrčci.

Every 17 years,

Svakih 17 godina,

milijarde njih izlazi iz zemlje

billions of them emerge from the ground to do three things:

da urade tri stvari:

mitarenje,

molt, mate and die.

parenje

i smrt.

There are 15 different broods of cicadas out there,

Postoji 15 različitih vrsta crvčaka,

grouped by when they'll emerge from the ground.

grupisanih na osnovu toga kada izlaze iz zemlje.

Some of these broods are on a 13-year cycle,

Neke od njih su u ciklusu od 13 godina,

others are on a 17-year clock.

neke od 17 godina.

Either way, the cicadas live underground for most of their lives,

U svakom slučaju, cvrčci žive pod zemljom

većinu svog života,

feeding on the juices of plant roots.

hraneći se sokovima sa korenja biljaka.

When it's time to emerge,

Kada je vreme da se pojave, odrasli će početi da kopaju

the adults begin to burrow their way out of the ground

nagore iz zemlje

sve do površine,

and up to the surface,

gde će živeti svega nekoliko nedelja.

where they'll live for just a few weeks.

Ipak, tokom ovih nekoliko nedelja,

During these weeks, though,

everybody will know the cicadas have arrived.

svako će znati da su stigli cvrčci.

There will be billions of them.

Biće ih na milijarde

And they're loud.

i glasni su.

Male cicadas band together to call for female mates,

Mužjaci se skupljaju

da dozovu partnerke,

and their collective chorus can reach up to 100 decibels --

i njihov zajednički zov može da dostigne

i do 100 decibela, što je glasno kao motorna testera.

as loud as a chain saw.

In fact, if you happen to be using a chain saw or a lawn mower,

Zapravo, ako koristite motornu testeru

ili kosilicu za travu,

male cicadas will flock to you,

mužjaci cvrčka će pohrliti ka vama

thinking that you're one of them.

misleći da ste jedan od njih.

Poput većine stvari u prirodi,

Now, like most things in nature,

the cicadas don't arrive without a posse.

cvrčci ne dolaze sami.

There are all sort of awesome and gross predators and parasites

Postoje razne vrste sjajnih i odvratnih grabljivica i parazita

that come along with the buzzing bugs.

koji dolaze sa zujanjem.

Take the fungus Massospora for example.

Tu je na primer gljivica mazospora.

Ova mala bela gljiviica se zakopava

This little white fungus buries itself in the cicada's abdomen

u stomak cvrčka i jede ga živoga,

and eats the bug alive,

leaving behind its spores.

ostavljajući za sobom spore.

Kada spore puknu,

When those spores rupture,

they burst out of the still-alive cicada,

izlaze iz cvrčka koji je još živ

turning the bug into a flying saltshaker of death,

i pretvaraju insekta u leteći slanik smrti

raining spores down upon its unsuspecting cicada neighbors.

koji ispušta spore

na bezazlene komšije cvrčke.

Ali iako prilično precizno znamo

But while we know pretty precisely

when the cicadas will arrive and fade away,

kada cvrčci dolaze i nestaju,

we're still not totally certain of why.

još nismo sasvim sigurni zašto.

There are certain advantages

Naravno, postoje određene prednosti

kada se cela vaša vrsta pojavi odjednom.

to having your entire species emerge at once, of course.

The sheer number of cicadas coming out of the ground

Sam broj cvrčaka koji izlaze iz tla

je tako neverovatan za grabljivice

is so overwhelming to predators, it is essentially guaranteed

da je u suštini zagarantovano

that a few bugs will survive and reproduce.

da će nekoliko insekata preživeti i razmnožiti se.

And since cicadas emerge every 13 or 17 years,

A pošto se cvrčci pojavljuju svakih 13 do 17 godina,

što je duže od životnog veka većine njihovih grabljivica,

longer than the lifespan of many of their predators,

the animals that eat them don't learn to depend on their availability.

životinje koje ih jedu

se ne nauče da zavise od njihove dostupnosti.

Ali zašto 13 i 17 godina

But why 13 and 17 years,

instead of 16 or 18 or 12?

umesto 16,

18,

ili 12?

Well, that part no one really knows.

To zapravo niko ne zna.

It's possible the number just happened by chance,

Moguće je da je broj sasvim slučajan,

ili cvrčci možda zaista vole proste brojeve.

or, perhaps, cicadas really love prime numbers.

Eventually, the cicadas will mate and slowly die off,

Na kraju, cvrčci će se razmnožavati i polako izumreti,

their call fading into the distance.

kao i njihovo zujanje.

The eggs they lay will begin the cycle again,

Jaja koja polože će ponovo započeti ciklus,

their cicada babies burrowing into the earth, feeding on plant juice,

mladi cvrčci će se zakopati pod zemlju,

hraniće se sokovima biljki i čekati na svoj red

and waiting for their turn to darken the skies

da zamrače nebo

i ispune vazduh svojom pesmom.

and fill the air with their songs.

Za 17 godina, biće spremni.

In 17 years, they'll be ready.

Will you?

Da li ćete i vi biti spremni?