The loathsome, lethal mosquito - Rose Eveleth

可惡致命的蚊子 - 露絲．埃弗萊斯 (Rose Eveleth)

譯者: Kwok Hei Koo 審譯者: Hao-Wei Chang

What's the worst bug on the planet?

世界上最可惡的蟲是什麼?

You might vote for the horsefly or perhaps the wasp,

你可能投給馬蠅

又或許黃蜂

but for many people,

但大部分人都覺得

the worst offender is by far the mosquito.

最惹人討厭的莫過於蚊子

The buzzing, the biting,

它的嗡嗡聲

它會咬人

the itching,

它帶來的搔癢

the mosquito is one of the most commonly detested pests in the world.

蚊子是這世界上

最令人厭惡的一種害蟲

In Alaska, swarms of mosquitos can get so thick

在阿拉斯加州， 密密麻麻的蚊子

that they actually asphyxiate caribou.

甚至可以令馴鹿窒息

And mosquito-borne diseases kill millions of people every year.

還有蚊子傳播的疾病每年奪取

百萬人以上

The scourge that is the mosquito isn't new.

蚊子的禍害不是新聞

Mosquitoes have been around for over a hundred million years

蚊子已經在世上

超過一億年

and over that time have coevolved with all sorts of species,

和包括我們在內的

和其它生物

including our own.

一起演化

There are actually thousands of species of mosquitos in the world,

在地球上

有上千種的蚊子

但它們都有一個 惹人討厭的共通點：

but they all share one insidious quality:

they suck blood,

它們會吸血

and they're really, really good at sucking blood.

它們真的非常善於吸血

Here's how they do it.

看看它們如何做到的

After landing, a mosquito will slather

蚊子著陸後會

some saliva onto the victim's skin, which works like an antiseptic,

塗抹一些唾液在受害者皮膚上

這就好像麻醉劑一樣

numbing the spot so we don't notice their attack.

麻醉傷口讓 我們不會發現它們的襲擊

This is what causes the itchy, red bumps, by the way.

也因此傷口會變成紅癢的疙瘩

Then the bug will use its serrated mandibles

之後蚊子會用鋸齒狀的顎

to carve a little hole in your skin,

在你的皮膚上戳出一個小洞

allowing it to probe around with its proboscis,

而可以讓它的吻管

鑽進皮膚

尋找血管

searching for a blood vessel.

When it hits one, the lucky parasite can suck

當它找到的時候

這個幸運的寄生蟲

可以吸取它的體重兩到三倍的血液

two to three times its weight in blood.

Turns out we don't really like that too much.

我們非常不喜歡被蚊子叮

In fact, humans hate mosquitos so much

事實上，人類痛恨蚊子

that we spend billions of dollars worldwide

我們甚至花費數十億美元

to keep them away from us --

使它們遠離我們 --

from citronella candles

由香茅蠟燭

to bug sprays to heavy-duty agricultural pesticides.

到除蟲噴霧劑

甚至高強度的農業殺蟲劑

But it's not just that mosquitos are annoying,

但是不只是 因為蚊子非常煩人

they're also deadly.

它們還可以令人致命

Mosquitos can transmit everything from malaria to yellow fever

蚊子可以傳播各種疾病

由瘧疾

黃熱病

to West Nile virus to dengue.

西尼羅河病毒

到登革熱

Over a million people worldwide

全球最少有 100 萬人

die every year from mosquito-borne diseases,

每年死於由蚊子傳播的疾病

and that's just people.

而且這只是人類

Horses, dogs, cats,

馬、狗、貓

they can all get diseases from mosquitoes too.

它們都可能染上蚊子傳播的疾病。

So, if these bugs are so dastardly, why don't we just get rid of them?

那麼，如果這些蚊子如此卑鄙

為什麼我們不把它們消滅呢？

We are humans after all,

畢竟我們是人類

and we're pretty good at getting rid of species.

我們很擅長令物種滅絕

事實並非如此單純

Well, it's not quite so simple.

Getting rid of the mosquito removes a food source

消滅蚊子

會消滅很多生物的

for lots of organisms, like frogs and fish and birds.

食物來源

例如：青蛙、魚、鳥

Without them, plants would lose a pollinator.

沒有蚊子， 植物會少一種授粉者

But some scientists say

不過也有一些科學家說

that mosquitos aren't actually all that important.

其實蚊子沒有那麼重要

If we got rid of them, they argue,

他們認為 如果我們消滅了蚊子

another species would simply take their place

會有另一種物種 可以輕易地取代它們的位置

and we'd probably have far fewer deaths from malaria.

而瘧疾導致死亡的人數也會大幅下降

The problem is that nobody knows what would happen

問題是

沒有人能夠知道會發生什麼事

if we killed off all the mosquitos.

如果我們滅絕所有蚊子

Something better might take their spot

或許有更好的物種會取代它們的位置

or perhaps something even worse.

或可能會更糟糕

The question is, are we willing to take that risk?

問題在於

我們是否願意冒險？

(Buzzing)