40 Maggots, Grubs, and Nymphs-Mid

Maggots, Grubs, and Nymphs FOCUS Question What are some different ways that insects begin their lives?

昆虫有哪些不同的方式开始它们的生命?

Yuck! It's your job to bring in the trash can after the garbage truck comes The can smells. There's still some garbage stuck to the bottom. Movement in the can catches your eye. It's a bunch of white wriggly critters! Yuck! But what are they? The wriggly white things are young insects called larvae (LAR-vee). Larvae are an early stage in the life cycle of many insects.

讨厌的东西!垃圾车来了之后，你的工作就是把垃圾桶搬进来。 底部还粘着一些垃圾。 罐头的运动吸引了你的眼球。 那是一群白色扭动的小动物!讨厌的东西!但是它们是什么呢? 这些扭动的白色东西是年轻的昆虫，叫做幼虫(larvee)。 幼虫是许多昆虫生命周期的早期阶段。

Larvae Insects are animals with six legs and three body parts. Roaches, ants, and butterflies are all insects. Some insects hatch from eggs as larvae. They look very different from their parents. The larvae often look like worms, with long bodies and no wings. Larvae are eating machines. Some grow ten thousand times their original weight! They shed their skin as they grow. When a larva reaches full size, it grows a tough case called a pupa (PYOO-puh). Inside the pupa, the larva transforms into an adult. This change from larva to adult is called metamorphosis (met-uh-MOR-fuh-sus).

昆虫是一种有六条腿和三个身体部分的动物。 蟑螂、蚂蚁和蝴蝶都是昆虫。 有些昆虫从卵中孵化成幼虫。 他们看起来和他们的父母很不一样。 幼虫通常看起来像蠕虫，身体很长，没有翅膀。 幼虫是进食机器。 有些可以长到原来重量的一万倍!它们在生长过程中蜕皮。 当幼虫长到完全大小时，它会长出一种坚硬的外壳，称为蛹(PYOO-puh)。 在蛹内，幼虫会变成成虫。 这种从幼虫到成虫的变化被称为变态。

Maggots The white critters you might see in a garbage can are called maggots. They are the larvae of flies. Female flies lay eggs on rotting animals and plants, or on animal waste. Maggots hatch from the eggs in as little as one day. Then the maggots feed on the rotting material. A maggot grows very quickly. It is fully grown in about one week. Once grown, the maggot crawls away from the food and turns into a pupa. After several days, the fly crawls out of its pupal case. It is now an adult with six legs, two wings, and three body parts.

你在垃圾桶里看到的白色生物叫做Maggots。 它们是苍蝇的幼虫。 雌蝇在腐烂的动植物或动物粪便上产卵。 蛆虫只需要一天就能从卵中孵化出来。 然后蛆虫以腐烂的物质为食。 蛆长得很快。 大约一周就能完全长成。 蛆一旦长大，就会爬离食物，变成蛹。 几天后，苍蝇从蛹里爬出来。 它现在是一个有六条腿，两只翅膀和三个身体部分的成年人。

Maggots may seem gross but they are important. They're decomposers—living things that eat dead plants, animals, and waste. By eating decaying matter, maggots recycle nutrients and help keep Earth clean. People even use maggots in medicine. Sometimes an injury, such as frostbite, kills body tissue. Dead tissue can cause a dangerous infection. Maggots eat the dead tissue but not the living tissue. By cleaning the injured area, they help prevent infections.

蛆可能看起来很恶心，但它们很重要。 它们是分解者——以死去的植物、动物和废物为食的生物。 通过吃腐烂的物质，蛆虫可以回收营养物质，帮助保持地球清洁。 人们甚至在医学上使用蛆。 有时受伤，如冻伤，会杀死身体组织。 坏死的组织会引起危险的感染。 蛆吃死的组织，但不吃活的组织。 通过清洁受伤区域，它们有助于预防感染。

Grubs Grubs are another kind of insect larvae. They are the larvae of beetles. Some moth larvae are also called grubs. A grub looks like a large maggot, but it has a head and legs. You can find grubs in rotting logs or under soil. Adult beetles dig into soil or rotten wood to lay eggs. After the grubs hatch, they munch on dead wood or plant roots. Grubs may spend months or even years as larvae. Once they reach full size, the grubs become pupae. After metamorphosis, the adult beetles crawl to the surface to find mates.

蛴螬是另一种昆虫幼虫。 它们是甲虫的幼虫。 有些蛾子幼虫也被称为幼虫。 蛴螬看起来像一个大蛆，但它有头和腿。 你可以在腐烂的原木或土壤下找到蛴螬。 成虫挖进土壤或腐烂的木头里产卵。 幼虫孵化后，它们以枯木或植物根为食。 蛴螬的幼虫期长达数月甚至数年。 一旦它们长到完全大小，幼虫就变成蛹。 蜕变后，成年甲虫爬到地表寻找配偶。