Whenever the hot summer, you can always encounter annoying mosquitoes, bite a lot of small red envelopes on your body, fortunately, in nature, there is a creature called the water fly, which can eat 3000 mosquitoes in 1 year, and strangle the mosquitoes to the cradle.
However, such a beneficial insect has become a delicacy on the human table, resulting in a surge in market demand, and the price once soared to a high price of 80 yuan per catty, and the hot demand caused its number to gradually decrease.
So, what's going on here?
蚊子杀手水虿
Water flies, belonging to freshwater creatures, look a bit like a small snake, but the front half of the body is thinner, the second half is thicker, mainly live in ponds, rivers and other fresh water, feed on a variety of small aquatic insects and aquatic animals.
They often use a variety of strategies to capture their prey, with water bugs swimming through bodies of water, using their senses to find potential prey, and using antennae and sensors to detect activity or chemicals in their surroundings in order to catch their prey.
In addition, some water bugs adopt the tactic of ambushing their prey, they will lurk in aquatic weeds or underwater, waiting for their prey to approach and attack suddenly. There are also some water bugs that hunt in burrows in the mud or water, where they wait for their prey to pass by in their nests and then attack to catch them.
The water fly has flexible tentacles that are flexible and sticky, and can quickly reach out and grasp prey. When a water fly captures its prey, it uses its soft body to suck it into its mouth, and then pushes it into its stomach for digestion through muscle movements.
Once the presence of mosquito larvae is detected, the water fly will use its keen sense of smell and larval predation skills to quickly catch and eat these insects.
According to statistics, in a year's time, 3,000 mosquitoes can be eaten, and this predatory behavior, to a certain extent, controls the growth of mosquito larvae, and helps to reduce the disturbance and impact of mosquitoes on humans and other organisms.
The feeding habits of water flies not only inhibit the larvae of mosquitoes, they also prey on other aquatic insects, water lice, water mites and other tiny organisms, which are of great significance for maintaining ecological balance, but there are also some natural enemies and potential threats, affecting the survival and reproduction of water flies.
Some carnivorous fish, especially some of the larger ones, prey on water bugs, which usually have a fast swimming ability and a strong ability to prey, and they will look for prey in the water, including water bugs.
In addition, some other aquatic insects can also become natural enemies of water flies, and insects such as water fleas and water ants are also water carnivores, and they will have fierce competition with water flies when looking for prey.
In addition, some aquatic birds also prey on water bugs, which will forage in the water to catch insects and small aquatic animals in the water, including the water bug. However, it is not so simple for them to catch the water fly.
Mainly because of their compact size, only a few centimeters long and their thin physique, their appearance and color are similar to their surroundings, showing good camouflage ability, making them more difficult to detect and catch.
Secondly, they also have excellent swimming ability and flexible body mobility, they can quickly shuttle and swim in the water, which allows them to flee quickly when threatened, and are not easy to catch.
In addition, they are also very adaptable to light, able to adjust their position and depth in the water, they will be close to the surface of the water, using the refraction of the water surface to make themselves difficult to observe.
In addition to this, the water fly also has a keen sense of perception, which can detect changes in the surrounding environment in time, and will respond quickly once it perceives a potential threat.
In short, they have a special ability to escape, and when faced with predators or threats, the water bugs will use the underwater environment and their own flexibility to escape quickly, and even avoid potential dangers by vibrating their tails quickly or swimming quickly.
However, despite their strong fighting power and excellent life-saving ability, their numbers have been gradually decreasing in recent years, so why is this?
Delicious food
For people, they regard the water fly as a delicious ingredient, which is rich in protein and trace elements, and is considered a wholesome food.
Even, in some places, it has become a special dish, fried, stir-fried, boiled, or used as a hot pot ingredient to have a unique texture and taste, and some chefs have also tried to incorporate it into various dishes to add umami and nutrients.
Although these aquatic creatures were often regarded as scavengers in lakes and waterways in the past, their edible value has gradually been recognized, and in recent years, there has been a shortage of supply, and the price has soared to a high price of 80 yuan per catty, and they are still rushing to buy.
There are several reasons for the surge in demand for water bugs, first of all, the change in food culture and the change of people's tastes, which has made food other than traditional ingredients gradually popular.
Secondly, there is an increasing demand for fresh, natural and healthy food, and the water fly is in line with this trend as a naturally caught ingredient.
In addition, in some traditional food cultures, the water fly is regarded as a rare or unique ingredient, which has triggered a certain market demand. Because supply cannot keep up with demand, it can lead to overfishing, which in turn affects aquatic ecosystems.
After all, the life cycle of a water fly is long, and the process from egg to adult takes about eight years. In some areas, governments and environmental groups have begun to call for the protection of water bugs, encouraging people to limit their fishing and consumption.
For some diners at the table, water bugs are a delicacy, but for the ecosystem, they are important creatures. They play an important role in the aquatic environment and maintain the ecological balance.
Therefore, while enjoying the delicious taste of water flies, we also need to think more about how to protect these creatures, avoid overfishing and consumption, and ensure the health and balance of aquatic ecosystems.