#头条创作挑战赛#
Fireflies used to be a ubiquitous animal in the countryside, and that starry scene is still desirable. But now it's hard to see again, some people say that fireflies have always been there, but the lights of human houses and roadsides are too bright for them to adapt, so they migrate to live elsewhere, so they can't see them. Some people say that the climate and environment have changed, making it impossible for them to survive, so they have disappeared. So what is the reality? To answer this question, we must first understand what kind of creature fireflies are.
Do fireflies shine all their lives?
I believe that many people are most interested in how fireflies emit light. Firefly luminescence is actually a chemical reaction, after the study of scientists, the luminous parts of fireflies mainly contain luciferase, luciferin, oxygen, magnesium ions, adenine nucleoside triphosphate and other substances, these substances are mixed together, after an efficient biochemical reaction, you can produce cold light.
Fireflies are completely metamorphosed creatures, which is not meant to be derogatory, of course, but rather to mean that their physical form changes from birth to adulthood. What many people don't expect is that most fireflies are already glowing from the egg stage. After mating, the female will lay eggs on the surface of the soil, a female can lay about 100 eggs, in order to allow the eggs to hatch healthily, the female usually chooses a moist soil environment, and about 4 weeks after laying the eggs, these eggs will hatch.
The larvae of the firefly have a flat back and extend to the sides, like a stacked tile, with its knotted shell stacked from front to back, although it has an ugly appearance, it can also emit a faint green light at this time, and it is also a wonderful experience to look for food in the grass and see it at night. Firefly larvae usually feed on slugs, snails and various mollusks, and when hunting, they inject a digestive enzyme into the prey to directly paralyze the prey before eating it safely.
Fireflies generally hatch in late summer and grow in autumn and winter, and the larvae molt many times in the process of growth, and each molt will increase in size. In late spring, they begin to pupate, and in the process, they wrap themselves in soil and attach themselves to the tree with their tails facing up, thus entering the pupal stage.
Within a few weeks after the firefly enters the pupal stage, the internal body of the pupal will change, the original body tissue will be broken down, and then form a kind of transformed cells, triggering a series of biochemical reactions in the pupae body, this process is the "allergic process". After completing the metamorphosis process, the firefly enters the adult stage.
The adult stage is the last period of fireflies, when their mission is to reproduce the next generation, and their light plays the most important role at this stage. Both female and male fireflies will try to make themselves glow in order to find a mate, and different species of fireflies have different lights, although humans can't distinguish them, but they can be identified by flashing patterns.
In general, males fly low, while females fly higher in trees. The male controls his abdomen and sends a flickering signal for courtship, and if the female also sees it, she will return to the male in the same way, and then the male will follow the light and find its final destination.
Fireflies work very hard to complete their reproductive mission, and many times they do not eat meat as they did when they were larvae, but eat some pollen or nectar on the flowers, because they want to save time to find mates. In order to fill their stomachs, some female fireflies will even use flashing signals to lure males over, and males think that this is a female courtship, but the females take it as food.
In fact, in the life of fireflies, the adult stage is the most beautiful moment, because they fly in groups in the air, a little light, making the world a fairyland. However, this is also the time when they have the shortest lifespan, because when they have completed their fertility tasks, they will also die.
There are many people who like fireflies because although their lives are short, they are really trying to live, and from the moment they come into this world, they have been shining until the end of their lives, and they pass on the light to the next generation. But there are also some people who don't like fireflies because they feel that fireflies are pests that destroy crops in the field and should be eradicated, so is this really the case?
Are fireflies pests?
Many people think that fireflies are pests, but Professor Fu Xinhua of Huazhong Agricultural University gave the opposite answer, because he has studied fireflies for more than 20 years, and he found that fireflies mainly eat snails, slugs (slugs) These insects, these insects specialize in eating crops, fireflies feed on them, in fact, they still protect crops, so fireflies are beneficial insects. However, the contribution of fireflies is not only to eliminate pests, but also to reflect the climate and environment of a region.
The life of fireflies is extremely fragile, so they have high requirements for the air, water quality, soil, vegetation, humidity, temperature, etc. of the living environment, if there are many fireflies in an area, it means that the natural ecology of the area is not bad, but if there were fireflies, but then the fireflies disappeared, then it means that the environment of the area began to have problems, and it is necessary to pay attention to it. So at this time, fireflies play the role of an "ecological investigator". However, such beneficial insects that are helpful to humans have now disappeared.
There are many reasons for the disappearance of fireflies, the first of which is the deterioration of the environment. Many people have a common feeling, in the old countryside, every night, the surroundings were very quiet, and the sound of frogs and crickets echoed outside the house. The air is also fresh, take a deep breath and don't worry about car exhaust at all.
But nowadays, even in rural areas, there are always vehicles passing by on the road, noise, exhaust fumes, which used to belong only to the city, are now everywhere in the countryside. As mentioned above, fireflies are extremely sensitive to the environment, and changes in temperature, humidity, and air quality can affect them. And today's climate and environment, even human beings can clearly feel that it has indeed changed, so those fireflies are gone.
Then modern agricultural technology has also affected fireflies, since the promotion of pesticides in rural areas, farmers will spray pesticides on crops almost every year, pesticides do have a little use, kill the insects to keep the yield, but the use of pesticides to kill pests is basically indiscriminate attacks, whether pests or beneficial insects have been eliminated, which of course also includes fireflies. To make matters worse, other pests can become resistant to pesticides for a long time, but fireflies don't, they just die in batches and disappear from sight altogether.
The second is light pollution. As mentioned above, fireflies find mates through their light, which means they are suitable for dark environments. But nowadays, the city is brightly lit, even in the countryside, and some are lit everywhere, which seriously affects the communication between fireflies, and they cannot find a mate, so naturally there is no chance to reproduce the next generation.
In fact, although fireflies are rare now, a few can still be seen in some remote rural areas, but they are really extinct in cities. However, it is precisely because of this that there is a high demand for fireflies in cities.
In the city, there are people who buy fireflies in large quantities and release them in parks or at weddings, all just to set the mood. But because they have a demand, others will catch a large number of fireflies and sell them, but the environment of the city is not suitable for fireflies to survive, so these fireflies released will die quickly.
Some people may think that these fireflies can fly far away from the city to survive, but some studies have shown that fireflies are not capable of migration, they can only move within 100 meters, and this has been the case for generations. So it explains why it's hard to see fireflies again after the fireflies disappear in one place.
Although the disappearance of fireflies makes many people regret, but when you think about it calmly, it seems that human life has not become bad because of the disappearance of fireflies, so is it necessary for us to blame ourselves for not seeing fireflies at night? Did the disappearance of fireflies really make humanity lose anything?
What did humanity lose from the disappearance of fireflies?
First of all, one thing is certain, the disappearance of fireflies means that our ecological environment is deteriorating. In fact, human beings have known this for a long time, but they have been unable to make changes. Everyone knows that industrial development destroys the natural environment, but it is also true that industrial development promotes human progress, so how can we stop development for the sake of these bugs?
However, this is one of the saddest aspects of human beings, yes, the disappearance of fireflies does not have an impact on human beings, that is because the life of fireflies is already fragile, and they can't stand it if the environment changes a little. However, you must know that the earth is not only disappearing because of the deterioration of the environment, but also many more tenacious than fireflies are also disappearing, to admit that every creature has its own suitable living conditions, if one day the earth's environment is no longer suitable for human survival, then human beings can only disappear like these insects.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with the progress of human civilization, but we should also pay attention to the situation of other creatures, who have been sending a signal to mankind with their lives: the earth's environment is changing, and you humans should take care.
Therefore, with the disappearance of fireflies, what has deprived humans of the once comfortable natural climate.
In addition to this, there is also the cultural aspect. We once learned "sac fireflies reflecting snow", and since then we have been full of curiosity about glowing firefly tips. There are also many ancient poets who describe fireflies in their poems, such as Li Bai blurted out "The rain is hard to extinguish, and the wind blows brighter." If it weren't for the sky, make the moon side star", and Du Mu also said, "The silver candle autumn light cold painting screen, light Luo small fan fluttering fireflies." ”
These eternal swan songs not only made these poets famous for a while, but also made future generations yearn for that wonderful scene. Human beings have been curious about luminous objects since ancient times, so they are full of poetry for animals like fireflies, but the elves that carry Chinese culture like this will disappear one day because of us, so we have lost too much.
Of course, human development cannot be stopped, but can human beings, as creatures on the earth, also take care of other creatures and seek a way to live in harmony together? Can we really accept that one day there will be only humans on Earth?