Maternal love is the greatest emotion in the world, it transcends all definitions, it is the first emotion we feel when we come into this world, and it is also our instinct to be born as a human being, but this instinct is not only what people will have, but there will also be this great emotion in animals, this animal is the "ugly", soft-hearted salamander (qu sou), who is nicknamed "fire clip".
The fire clip salamander is a type of arthropod, with a body length of only about 3 cm, which is very small. Its biggest feature is the pliers-like structure of the tail, through which they defend against predators and are also used for courtship. This pliers is also the origin of its name. In addition to the name of the fire clip, it also has a more well-known name, "ear clip worm", its wings open after showing two semi-arcs, like two open small fans, but also very similar to people's ears, so it is called ear clip worm. And the name also makes people misunderstand this little guy.
The slightly eerie appearance of the salamander makes people not want to see it, and it is not difficult to see people's misunderstanding of it from its English name earwig: "earworm". Many people think that the meaning of the insect is that it can enter the human body through the ear and cause harm to the human body, but the name is really just a figurative name. As early as 1731, humans already knew about this extremely aggressive-looking animal, although its shape did not pose a threat to humans, but because of its habit of traveling at night, sensitive and suspicious humans wrote a legendary story for it.
The salamander in the story often haunts the dark and damp night, uses its young body to sneak into the human home, with the help of its flexible body from the human ear into the brain, laying thousands of eggs, and constantly going deep and feeding on the human brain, while the poor people begin to go crazy and eventually die without knowing it. Because the salamander has appeared in most parts of China, the story is also very familiar, and people in the Tianjin area heard the fire clip and immediately jumped out of the dialect of "scare me a spirit".
Now is a high level of knowledge, such rumors have gradually become people's jokes, but this story about the life habits of the salamander is real. Salamanders prefer damp and dark living environments, so they mostly live under withered trees and leaves, and are not often encountered by humans. If you are unfortunate enough to have a face with it, then it means that your home is damp and dark, so pay attention to cleaning! But in fact, they like darkness, but they like to fly at night. Therefore, they are rarely seen during the day, which explains why the salamander in the story only appears at night.
Although the size of the salamander is very petite, we can not underestimate this humble creature, the salamander is actually a solid "carnivore", they can use more than forty small insects as their own food, but also can eat two hundred cotton aphids in one day, such an amazing amount of food led to the later legend of eating human brains. And this story also makes people think that the salamander is a pest, but the actual salamander is not harmful to humans.
Salamander refers to a large group of species that contains many species, such as Japanese salamander, crab salamander, and common salamander. They do not contain toxins themselves, do not have a bad effect on the human body, even if they bite them, they will only feel a slight stinging pain, and there is no other difference from other biting insects, which will cause skin inflammation at most. So what exactly is its harm?
The study found that the salamander is not harmful to the human body, and it is really a threat to the crops in the land, because the salamander is divided into many species, each of which also has its own unique habits and parasitizes on their favorite crops, just as humans often eat their favorite foods. Take the Japanese clam as an example, it appears more on cotton, if not cleaned up in time, it will lead to a reduction in cotton production. In addition to harming crops, they also have a nasty feature of "strange smell".
The reason why the salamander emits a stink is because of its body structure, and the glandular folds of the third and fourth sections of its abdomen can produce a special odor that is used to defend against its natural enemies: praying mantises or birds, and sometimes to protect its children. Speaking of which, it is necessary to mention another nature of the salamander - the guardian of the child. The lifespan of the salamander itself is very short, only 289-330 days, and the last thing they do in their short life is to guard their children and become a qualified "mother".
Their "calf-guarding" nature is one of the biggest differences between them and other animals. Other females basically end their motherhood after spawning, leaving their children to grow up alone, and some even use them as their own food. In the case of brown-headed bull orioles, they do not find a suitable production place for themselves in advance before giving birth, but will occupy other people's nests, and when they are finished, they will fly away immediately, leaving their children to grow up alone. But the salamander will always guard the children's side, and from time to time they will clean the dirt that falls from the eggs, which can be described as pampering.
The salamander lays eggs around mid-May to late June, laying 30 to 50 eggs at a time, compared to about 20 eggs
God, during this time the mother of the salamander will not leave her child. When the larvae break out of their shells, the mother salamander will continue to stay in the nest to care for the young children, find food for them, and even regurgitate the food they eat to the children if necessary. During the juvenile period, adult salamanders will use their bodies to block the entrance and exit of the nest to prevent the larvae from inadvertently leaving their sight and being in danger, and if they feel that danger is approaching themselves and their children, the mother salamander will let the body emit a foul smell to disperse the enemy.
When the children are grown up unharmed and have the ability to take care of themselves, the salamander has completed the last important thing of its life. After the fact, the mother of the salamander will end her life quietly by the children's side alone, even at the last moment of life, they still love their children deeply, and even leave their bodies to the children as food. Many people may begin to wonder why salamanders have such a "calf protection" nature.
There is a very important reason is the living habits of salamanders, they mostly live in damp and dark places, will appear in the corners under the leaves and other corners, so it is inevitable that a large number of salamander mothers will lay eggs at the same time. After spawning, the salamander often goes to other nests to catch the eggs laid by other salamanders, and uses the eggs of others as their own food to save their physical strength and take care of their young children. Such predators force the salamanders to face the threat of cannibalism at any time, so they will protect their eggs extraordinarily from being eaten.
Although the salamander is petite, its small body contains such a great maternal love, which shows that every species in nature is worthy of respect. Although we can't be friends with them, we can live peacefully with them, and if we want not to be "neighbors" with them, we must pay attention to keeping the home dry and clean.
[1] Yang Jun, eds., Colorful Insects, China Overseas Chinese Publishing House, 2012.08
[2] Zhang Xuanheng, ed., Animals Turn out to be Such Stubborn Bugs, Shanghai Science Popularization Publishing House, 2015.01
[3] Qiao Chu, editor-in-chief, 100 Common Birds in the World 100 Common Trees in the World 100 Common Insects and Fish in the World, Value Full Color Platinum Edition, China Overseas Chinese Publishing House, 2013.08
[4] Shao Liou, eds., InfiniteLy Wonderful Insects, Jilin Fine Arts Publishing House, 2014.01
Author: Tomato Big Tomato Review: Henna Proofreader: Plum