Name: 螢火蟲的光芒背後是什麼｜裡面有什麼？ (What's Behind The Firefly's Glow | What's Inside?)
Uploaded: 2020-10-23T20:10:51.000Z
Duration: 5 min 30 s

all within the taxonomic family of Lampyridae,

And these lightning bugs with their flickering light shows

還有這些閃電蟲，它們閃爍的燈光秀。

make summer nights feel all the more magical and romantic.

答案就在蟲子的屁股上找到了。

This organ is a set of specialized light cells,

這個器官是一組專門的光細胞。

all encased in a translucent exoskeleton.

都被包裹在一個半透明的外骨骼中。

And those light cells are where the magic happens:

而這些光細胞就是神奇的地方。

when a chemical reaction in a living thing emits light.

Fireflies aren't the only creatures that have this power.

螢火蟲並不是唯一擁有這種能力的生物。

Glowworms and certain deep-sea fish species

the Earth's most famous bioluminescent species.

是地球上最著名的生物發光物種。

So what's happening inside the firefly's light cells?

那麼螢火蟲的光細胞裡面發生了什麼？

In the 19th century, French pharmacologist Raphaël Dubois,

19世紀，法國藥學家拉斐爾-杜波依斯。

discovered that there are two essential components

他把它們命名為熒光素和熒光素酶。

based on the Latin term lucifer, for "light-bringer."

基於拉丁語 "路西法"，即 "光明使者"。

Luciferin is the compound that generates light,

and luciferase is the enzyme that acts on it.

而熒光素酶就是作用於它的酶。

Today, we know that the firefly's bioluminescent reaction

今天，我們知道，螢火蟲的生物發光反應。

A firefly diverts oxygen to its light cells

螢火蟲將氧氣轉移到它的光細胞上

And those oxygen molecules react to luciferin,

而這些氧分子與熒光素髮生反應。

在熒光素酶的幫助下，進行催化

The luciferin then becomes agitated and excited,

it releases that energy in the form of light,

In a light bulb, 90% of the energy consumed

在一個燈泡中，90%的能量被消耗掉。

with only the remaining energy, a mere 10%,

nearly 100% of the energy is given off as light.

幾乎100%的能量都是以光的形式散發出來的。

That luminescence, or "cold light," as it's also called,

那種發光，也就是所謂的 "冷光"。

and then focused by a layer of reflector cells,

bioluminescence has a number of evolutionary benefits,

生物發光在進化上有很多好處。

helping certain marine species lure prey to their mouths

幫助某些海洋物種引誘獵物下嘴。

or serving as a defense against predators.

and so the juvenile fireflies live underground.

於是幼年螢火蟲就生活在地下。

So, we think that firefly light first evolved as a warning.

所以，我們認為螢火蟲燈最早是作為一種警告而演化的。

它就像一個霓虹燈牌，呼之欲出。

Those yellow flashes lighting up our warm summer nights

那些黃色的閃光照亮了我們溫暖的夏夜

are actually part of the fireflies' complex mating rituals,

其實是螢火蟲複雜的交配儀式的一部分。

by flashing a distinctive, recognizable pattern.

通過閃爍一個獨特的、可識別的圖案。

switching on and off seemingly at random -

Lewis: In North America, males might flash,

劉易斯：在北美，男性可能會閃光。

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, bleep,

等等，等等，等等，等等，等等，嗶嗶。

another flash, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, bleep,

又是一個閃光，等待，等待，等待，等待，嗶嗶聲。

Some species, the males actually give paired flashes,

有些物種，雄性其實是給配對的閃光。

so they'll fly along and then go bleep, bleep,

所以他們會飛起來，然後去嗶嗶，嗶嗶。

wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

等，等，等，等，等，等，等，等。

Bleep, bleep, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

嗶嗶，嗶嗶，等待，等待，等待，等待，等待。

And so females who are kind of hanging around

所以，女性誰是那種掛在周圍的

on grass down below can see these flashes,

在下面的草地上可以看到這些閃光。

and they can recognize a male of their own species.

而且他們能識別出同種的男性。

Narrator: But for all the romance and magic

旁白：但對於所有的浪漫和魔法

它們給我們的夏日夜晚增添了不少樂趣。

firefly populations around the globe are at serious risk.

全球各地的螢火蟲種群正面臨著嚴重的危險。

those love letters get a little lost in translation.

Lewis: In areas where there's a lot of bright lights,

劉易斯：在有很多亮光的地方。

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螢火蟲的光芒背後是什麼｜裡面有什麼？ (What's Behind The Firefly's Glow | What's Inside?)

specific

phenomenon

evolve

random