返回網站

每日跟讀#660: About Insects - Roaches are good for humans and can't be exterminated.

昆蟲: 蟑螂的善與惡

· 每日跟讀單元 Daily English,國際時事跟讀Daily Shadowing

Papa roach: Chinese farmer breeds bugs for the table 蟑螂老爹:中國農民養蟑螂上餐桌

As farmer Li Bingcai opened the door to his cockroach farm in Yibin, Sichuan province, a critter flew into his face. He tossed it back into the dark room where some 10 million more of its kind scurried around.

當四川省宜賓市農民李炳才(譯音)打開蟑螂養殖場大門,一隻生物飛到他的臉上。他將牠扔回漆黑的房間,裡面還有約1000萬隻這類生物四處飛舞。

These creatures may be a bugbear for most, but breeders like Li are turning them into a niche business. While some sell cockroaches for medicinal purposes, as animal feed or to get rid of food waste, Li breeds them for food for human consumption.

對多數人來說,這些生物可能是怪物,但像李炳才這樣的飼主,正將這種生物變成一種利基產業。有人將蟑螂以藥物用途賣出,也有人拿來餵養動物或消耗廚餘,李炳才則是養來做為人類的食物。

A restaurant down the road from his small facility fries them up in famously spicy Sichuan sauce for the gutsier eaters. "People don’t believe how good it is until they try some," Li said, putting one into his mouth.

從他的小工廠那條路往前走,有家餐廳會將蟑螂油炸,搭配著名的四川辣醬,讓膽子大的饕客嚐鮮。「直到吃進去前,大家都不相信有多美味。」李炳才一邊形容,一邊將炸蟑螂放入口中。

Known colloquially as American cockroaches, the Periplaneta Americana is one of the largest species and is consumed for a variety of ailments: stomach ulcers, respiratory tract problems, and even simply as a tonic.

這種俗稱「美國蟑螂」的美洲家蠊,是個體數量最多的物種之一;人們會吃牠來治療多種病痛,包括胃潰瘍、呼吸道問題,甚至當成補品進食。

Next

Cockroaches could soon be almost impossible to kill with pesticides 蟑螂不久後恐幾乎不可能用殺蟲劑殺死

A new study has found that German cockroaches, the most common species of the insect in the world, are developing cross-resistance to numerous insecticides.

一項新研究發現,全球最常見的蟑螂品種德國蟑螂,正對多種殺蟲劑產生交叉抗藥性。

Not only were researchers in some cases unable to reduce cockroach numbers during a six-month study period, even when combining different insecticides, but they found the insects’ resistance increased up to six-fold within one generation.

在某些情況下,研究人員不僅無法在為期半年的研究期間減少蟑螂數量,甚至合併使用不同殺蟲劑也是如此,但他們發現,蟑螂的耐藥性在一代之內提高到此前的6倍。

The team says it was able to keep the roach populations stable during the study period, but could not make a significant dent in their numbers.

研究團隊表示,蟑螂的數量可在研究期間維持穩定,但無法大幅減少。

With the two-insecticide mixture, the pests even appeared to thrive.

在混合使用兩種殺蟲劑後,蟑螂的數量甚至增加了。

One of the single-insecticide experiments suggested the population was at first vulnerable to the method, and in that case they were able to mostly wipe them out. But, in another trial with 10 percent starting resistance, the population grew despite treatment.

其中一項單一殺蟲劑試驗表明,蟑螂起初對此難以抵抗,在此情況下,他們可將大半蟑螂消滅。然而,在另一項耐藥性達10%的試驗中,儘管使用殺蟲劑,蟑螂數量還是增加。

Source article: https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1304126 ; https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1307078

更多跟讀練習單元,就在http://www.15mins.today/daily-shadowing
用email訂閱就可以收到所有15mins.Today最新節目通知。