The sun is shining. The trees seem to scream at you as billions of cicadas erupt

陽光燦爛。樹木似乎在向你呼喊，數十億隻蟬爆發出來

from the soil after a nearly two-decade-long absence and sing their mating song. Just listen

在離開近20年後，它們從土壤中出來，唱起了交配歌。請聽

to that sound of the season. [Cicadas screaming].

到那個季節的聲音。 [蟬的尖叫聲]。

Ah... Springtime. [Cicadas screaming].

啊......春天來了。[Cicadas screaming] 。

I realized that those of you living outside of the United States might not know what I'm talking

我意識到，那些生活在美國以外的人可能不知道我在說什麼。

about. That is the sound of cicadas the dumb, clumsy, noisy insects with transparent wings

關於。那是蟬的聲音，它是啞巴、笨拙、嘈雜的昆蟲，有著透明的翅膀。

and big ol' compound eyes. And, before you say it, yes it's true that there are some

和大的複眼。而且，在你說之前，是的，確實有一些

3,000 species of cicada and they live all over the world. But the variety I'm talking

3,000種蟬，它們生活在世界各地。但我所談論的品種

about are periodical cicadas that only live in North America.

大約是週期性的蟬，只生活在北美洲。

Cicadas species fall into two broad groups: annual that can be seen every year, and periodical

蟬的種類分為兩大類：每年都能看到的一年一度的，和週期性的

that emerge in cycles that last 13 or 17 years. That's not to say a certain species can

在持續13或17年的週期中出現的。這並不是說某一物種可以

only be spotted every 13 or 17 years, because the same species can have multiple broods

每隔13或17年才會被發現，因為同一物種可以有多胎。

that emerge in different years across different geographical regions. There are 15 brood cycles

在不同的地理區域，不同年份出現的。有15個育雛週期

and the one set to emerge this year is one of the largest: brood X. Billions of these guys will climb

而今年將出現的是最大的一個：X型雛鳥。 數以億計的這些傢伙將爬上

out of their little underground burrows and shriek their little hearts out when it's

從它們的地下小洞穴中出來，當天黑的時候，它們的小心臟就會尖叫起來。

warm enough to do so. Before emerging, periodical cicadas spend

足夠暖和的時候才會這樣做。在出現之前，週期性蟬花了

all those years underground in the nymph stage of their life cycle, drinking the liquids

這些年在地下的生命週期的蛹階段，飲用液體

from plant roots. How they coordinate coming out all together is anyone's guess. It's

從植物的根部。他們是如何協調出來的，誰也說不準。它是

possible changes in the root's fluid clue them in on how much time has passed, or their

根部液體的可能變化為他們提供了過去多少時間的線索，或者他們的

bodies tick off freeze-and-thaw cycles. But either way they can reliably count down 13 or 17

屍體在凍融循環中打勾。但無論如何，他們可以可靠地倒數13或17個數字

years, depending on the species. Why this long is a mystery.

年，取決於物種。為什麼這麼久是個謎。

Maybe they're just waiting for a prime time… get it, because 13 and 17 are… prime numbers.

也許他們只是在等待一個黃金時間......得到它，因為13和17是......黃金數字。

Actually no, the prime interval may help them survive by keeping them from syncing

實際上不是的，主要的時間間隔可能會幫助它們生存，使它們不被同步。

up with their predators' life cycles. Anyway, once that time has passed and the soil temperatures hit about 18 degrees

在他們的捕食者的生命週期中。總之，一旦這段時間過去，土壤溫度達到約18度

celsius they dig themselves out of the ground like a zombie hoard.

攝氏度，他們像殭屍囤積一樣從地下挖出自己。

Well, a zombie hoard

好吧，一個殭屍囤積的地方

looking for love.

尋找愛情。

Sure they had long and safe lives underground,

當然，他們在地下有漫長而安全的生活。

but they're teenagers now. It's time for them to get out there, find a nice mate, settle

但他們現在是青少年了。現在是時候讓他們走出去，找到一個好的伴侶，定居下來。

down and have hundreds of offspring. You know how it is.

下，並有數百個後代。你知道這是怎麼回事。

So after they come out en masse and molt out of their

是以，在它們集體出動，蛻去身上的毛髮後

nymph forms to let their new winged adult bodies harden overnight, it's mating time, baby!

蛹的形式，讓它們新的有翅膀的成年身體在一夜之間變硬，這是交配時間，寶貝！"。

To attract a mate, the males have special

為了吸引配偶，雄性有特殊的

ribbed membranes on their abdomens called tymbals. By contracting and relaxing their

它們腹部的肋膜被稱為鼓膜。通過收縮和放鬆它們的

tymbals 120 to 480 times a second, the males can sustain a humming noise. Each cicada species

一秒鐘打120到480次鼓，雄蟬可以持續發出嗡嗡聲。每個蟬種

has a unique song that only attracts females of the same species.

有一種獨特的歌聲，只吸引同一物種的雌性。

Hilariously though, lawnmowers can create sounds at the same frequency as some males,

不過搞笑的是，割草機可以產生與某些男性相同頻率的聲音。

causing people doing yard work to be swarmed by lady cicadas drawn by what they think is

導致在院子裡工作的人被他們認為是的女蟬所吸引而蜂擁而至。

the call of a hot stud.

炙手可熱的種馬的召喚。

And you thought having a nice car was a chick magnet.

而你認為擁有一輛好車就能吸引女孩。

Males tend to congregate and sing in chorus, chirping away at more than 90 decibels. Not

雄鳥往往聚集在一起，以合唱的方式歌唱，以超過90分貝的聲音鳴叫。不

only does this help the females know where to find a partner, the sound also repels birds.

這不僅有助於雌性知道在哪裡找到伴侶，而且這種聲音還能驅趕鳥類。

That's not to say they're safe from predators. Actually, far from it. The clumsy little guys make easy

這並不是說它們不會受到捕食者的傷害。事實上，遠非如此。這些笨拙的小傢伙很容易

prey and predators gorge themselves on the surprise feast. But there's just so many

獵物和捕食者在驚喜的盛宴中大快朵頤。但就是有這麼多

of them that predators can't eat them all, or even really put a dent in the population.

掠食者不可能把它們全部吃掉，甚至不可能真正對它們的數量產生影響。

That might actually be their survival strategy, which is called predator satiation. Once the

這實際上可能是他們的生存策略，這被稱為捕食者飽食。一旦

feast is done, the survivors are free to get buzzy.

宴會結束後，倖存者們可以自由自在地大展拳腳。

Females can lay up to 600 eggs, which they typically deposit in the wood of dozens of

雌性可以產下多達600個卵，它們通常會將這些卵存放在幾十棵樹的木材中。

twigs and branches. Four to six weeks after emerging from the ground, the adult cicadas

小枝和樹枝。從地面出來後的四到六週，成年的蟬就會

die off. Shortly after that, their eggs hatch and a new generation of nymphs makes its way

死掉。此後不久，它們的卵就會孵化，新的一代若蟲就會出現。

to the ground to start the process all over again.

到地面上，重新開始這個過程。

This whole thing involves some pretty incredible coordination and timing, but even so, some

這整個事情涉及到一些相當令人難以置信的協調和時機，但即便如此，一些

of brood X emerged early in 2017. One theory points to climate change. Scientists are seeing

的雛形X在2017年初出現。一種理論指出了氣候變化。科學家們正看到

broods emerge early more and more often and the changing temperatures appear to be the

越來越多的雛鳥提前出現，而溫度的變化似乎是一個重要原因。

only common factor that could explain why their internal clocks are off.

唯一可以解釋他們的內部時鐘為什麼不正常的共同因素。

Most of them are still set to emerge this year. If you live outside North America and

他們中的大多數仍將在今年出現。如果你住在北美洲以外的地方，並且

this all sounds like a natural wonder you'd like to see, you can visit and see broods

這一切聽起來都是你想看到的自然奇觀，你可以參觀並看到雛形

XIII and XIX emerge in 2024. But if you want to see the next wave from brood X, you're

XIII和XIX在2024年出現。但是，如果你想看到第X代的下一波，你要

going to have to wait until 2038. Mark your calendar if you plan on doing some yard work

將不得不等到2038年。如果你打算做一些院子裡的工作，請在你的日曆上標明。

then maybe just stay off the riding lawn mower.

那麼也許就不要再使用騎式割草機了。

These cicadas are emerging on their own,

這些蟬是自己出現的。

but why would humans intentionally breed and release millions of mosquitoes? Check out

但人類為什麼要故意繁殖和釋放數以百萬計的蚊子？請看

this video to find out more. If you liked this video, let us know in the comments below.

這個視頻來了解更多。如果你喜歡這個視頻，請在下面的評論中告訴我們。

Make sure to subscribe and thanks for watching. I'll see you next time on Seeker.

請務必訂閱並感謝您的觀看。下次在Seeker上見。