When you observe a praying mantis, its swiveling head and its following eyes give a creepy sense that you are being watched.

當你觀察螳螂時，它轉動的頭部和緊盯著你的眼睛會給人一種毛骨悚然的感覺，彷彿你正在被監視著。

Before making this video, I knew praying mantises were kinda cool and kinda creepy.

在製作這段視頻之前，我知道螳螂有點酷，也有點嚇人。

When I found one while camping in Texas, I made my boyfriend, now husband, help me take pictures of it for like an hour.

我在得克薩斯露營時發現了一個，我讓我的男朋友，也就是現在的丈夫，幫我拍了大概一個小時的照片。

Literally an hour before I was going to export this video, by an amazing coincidence, I found one patrolling my zucchini plants.

就在我準備輸出這段視頻的前一個小時，一個驚人的巧合讓我發現了一隻正在我的西葫蘆植株上巡邏的小鳥。

For being such a small insect, its behavior was rather bold.

作為一隻小昆蟲，它的行為相當大膽。

It climbed on me, hopped on my phone, and stared deep into my soul.

它爬到我身上，跳到我的手機上，深深地凝視著我的靈魂。

I freaking love these bugs.

我太喜歡這些蟲子了。

I love the way that they seem so aware of their surroundings.

我喜歡它們對周圍環境如此瞭解的樣子。

I've always known they had this penetrating gaze and amazing raptorial claws.

我一直都知道它們有這種穿透力極強的目光和驚人的猛禽爪子。

What I didn't know is that they eat birds.

我不知道的是，它們還吃鳥。

And frogs.

還有青蛙

And they seem to do it more than we ever realized.

他們似乎比我們意識到的做得更多。

This little fact only feeds into what is their already creepy reputation.

這個小事實只會讓他們本來就令人毛骨悚然的名聲更加響亮。

If you know anything about praying mantids, you probably know that the females eat the males after mating.

如果你對螳螂有所瞭解，你可能知道雌螳螂在交配後會吃掉雄螳螂。

And because of this and their unsettling gaze, many people straight up hate praying mantids or think that they're evil.

正因為如此，再加上它們令人不安的目光，很多人直接就討厭螳螂，或者認為它們是邪惡的。

Just look at the comments of the video of the praying mantis eating the hummingbird.

看看螳螂吃蜂鳥視頻的評論就知道了。

But even though they do eat birds and they do eat their boyfriends, praying mantids are so much more than creepy little freaks.

不過，儘管螳螂會吃鳥，也會吃自己的男朋友，但它們可不僅僅是令人毛骨悚然的小怪獸。

Their hunting style, while sometimes shocking, is incredibly impressive.

它們的狩獵風格雖然有時令人震驚，但卻令人難以置信。

With no venom and no stinger.

沒有毒液，也沒有毒刺。

How is it possible that this relatively small invertebrate takes down things much bigger than itself?

這種相對較小的無脊椎動物怎麼可能打倒比自己大得多的東西呢？

And on top of this, some praying mantises take their ambush hunting to the next level, operating under an incredible disguise.

除此之外，一些螳螂還把伏擊狩獵提高到了一個新的水準，它們的偽裝令人難以置信。

And unlike many other insect predators who use chemoreception and mechanoreception for hunting, the praying mantis finds its prey visually.

與其他許多利用化學感知和機械感知捕食的昆蟲捕食者不同，螳螂是通過視覺來發現獵物的。

And their eyes are some of the most sophisticated in the insect world.

它們的眼睛是昆蟲世界中最複雜的。

They are the only known insect to see in 3D.

它們是唯一能看到 3D 效果的已知昆蟲。

Their vision is so unique and so powerful that researchers think it could hold the answer to computer vision in certain small robots.

它們的視覺如此獨特和強大，以至於研究人員認為它可以解決某些小型機器人的計算機視覺問題。

And when it comes to eating their boyfriends, it's not just because they're ruthless man-haters.

說到吃掉自己的男朋友，不僅僅是因為她們是無情的男人殺手。

They have a pretty compelling reason for this unusual behavior.

他們有一個非常令人信服的理由來解釋這種不尋常的行為。

Praying mantises are so incredible, researchers put them in a category of their own among insects, comparing them more closely to vertebrates than their insect counterparts.

螳螂是如此不可思議，研究人員把它們歸為昆蟲中的一類，把它們與脊椎動物相比較，更接近於昆蟲的同類。

There is nothing else like them.

沒有什麼能與它們媲美。

How are praying mantises able to kill prey so much larger than they are?

螳螂為什麼能殺死比自己大得多的獵物？

What makes them such accurate assassins?

是什麼讓他們成為如此精準的刺客？

And why do they eat their boyfriends?

她們為什麼要吃掉自己的男朋友？

When you think of a praying mantis, this charismatic green insect probably comes to mind.

說到螳螂，您可能會想到這種充滿魅力的綠色昆蟲。

But there are so many different species of mantis.

但是，螳螂的種類太多了。

Mantises are an order of insects that contain over 2,400 species in about 460 genera in 33 families.

螳螂是一種昆蟲，共有 33 科 460 屬 2400 多個物種。

The closest relatives they have are cockroaches and termites, but even then they aren't that close.

它們的近親是蟑螂和白蟻，但即便如此，它們之間的關係也不是那麼密切。

They diverged from a common ancestor around 300 million years ago.

它們是在大約 3 億年前從共同祖先那裡分化出來的。

With thousands of praying mantis species in the world, the anatomy between them inevitably varies quite a bit.

世界上有成千上萬種螳螂，它們之間的解剖結構難免會有很大差異。

The smallest mantis is the Bulbae pygmaea, which is about one centimeter long when fully grown.

最小的螳螂是Bulbae pygmaea，完全長成後大約有一釐米長。

The heaviest species of praying mantis is the West African megamantis, with the female sometimes weighing over 13 grams.

最重的螳螂是西非巨螳螂，雌螳螂有時重達 13 克以上。

And the longest is the giant stick mantis from northern Africa, measuring over 17 centimeters in length.

最長的是非洲北部的巨棒螳螂，身長超過 17 釐米。

And among all these species of praying mantis are some of the most fascinating examples of crypsis and mimicry in the animal kingdom.

在所有這些螳螂物種中，有一些是動物王國中最迷人的隱身和模仿例子。

The life of a praying mantis begins as it hatches from its egg sac, as it joins hundreds of its siblings and oozes down to the branches below.

螳螂的生命從卵囊孵化開始，它與數百隻同胞一起，滲到下面的樹枝上。

These are orchid mantis nymphs, and from day one, they are already an evolutionary wonder.

這些是蘭花螳螂若蟲，從第一天起，它們就已經是進化的奇蹟。

These small insects mimic a type of assassin bug, a foul-tasting insect with an incredibly painful stab from its proboscis.

這些小昆蟲模仿一種刺客蟲，這種昆蟲味道惡臭，長鼻會刺得人疼痛難忍。

Cloaked in their disguise, these small nymphs will traverse the landscape of leaves and branches, hunting all that they can, snatching sizable prey.

這些小若蟲披著偽裝，在樹葉和樹枝間穿行，捕食一切可以捕食的東西，攫取體型較大的獵物。

They are also trying to evade confrontation with any predator.

它們還試圖躲避任何捕食者的攻擊。

But if they do come across a hungry foe, they have a surprising tactic up their sleeve.

但如果遇到飢餓的敵人，他們也有出奇制勝的辦法。

This kung fu stance makes the nymph look bigger and more threatening, and is often enough to keep predators away.

這種功夫姿勢讓若蟲看起來更大、更有威脅性，往往足以讓捕食者望而卻步。

And if they evade their many predators, they will turn into one of the most dazzling insects known to man, the orchid mantis.

如果它們躲過了眾多天敵，就會變成人類已知的最耀眼的昆蟲之一--蘭花螳螂。

But only if they're one of the lucky ones.

但前提是他們是幸運兒之一。

Orchid mantises are elusive animals that live in tropical forests of Southeast Asia, and the females look remarkably like the petals of orchid flowers.

蘭花螳螂是一種生活在東南亞熱帶森林中的難以捉摸的動物，雌螳螂的外形非常像蘭花的花瓣。

And yes, sometimes they eat their babies.

是的，有時它們會吃掉自己的孩子。

They will even move with a swaying motion, as if being blown in the breeze.

它們甚至會搖擺移動，就像被微風吹動一樣。

Their deceptive appearance helps to conceal themselves from predators, but also to aid in ambush hunting.

它們具有欺騙性的外表有助於躲避捕食者，也有助於伏擊捕獵。

They hide themselves in plain view, their flowery appearance luring in pollinating insects.

它們把自己藏在顯眼的地方，花朵般的外表吸引著授粉昆蟲。

And then, before the pollinator knows what's happening, the mantis snatches it with blinding speed.

然後，在授粉者還沒反應過來的時候，螳螂就以迅雷不及掩耳之勢把它叼走了。

Field experiments show that orchid mantises attract wild pollinators at a rate even higher than real flowers.

實地實驗表明，蘭花螳螂吸引野生授粉者的比率甚至高於真正的花朵。

Because their camouflage is used for hunting, and not just hiding from predators, this mimicry is sometimes called aggressive mimicry.

由於它們的偽裝是為了狩獵，而不僅僅是為了躲避捕食者，這種模仿有時被稱為攻擊性模仿。

And it's so effective that the orchid mantis has to be evolutionarily careful.

這種方法非常有效，以至於蘭花螳螂在進化過程中不得不小心翼翼。

If these mantids become too abundant, over-predation on pollinating insects could hurt the very thing they mimic.

如果這些螳螂數量過多，對授粉昆蟲的過度捕食可能會傷害它們所模仿的昆蟲。

And if the real orchids disappear, then the schtick is up.

如果真正的蘭花消失了，那就沒戲唱了。

Thus, the fact that orchid mantids are so rare and elusive may be a critical aspect of their success.

是以，蘭螳螂如此稀少和難以捉摸可能是其成功的一個關鍵因素。

Their rarity may also ensure that the chances of pollinators encountering multiple orchid mantises are low, thus reducing the likelihood that pollinators will learn to distinguish deceptive orchid mantises from the real flowers.

它們的稀有性還可能確保傳粉昆蟲遇到多隻蘭花螳螂的機率很低，從而降低傳粉昆蟲學會分辨欺騙性蘭花螳螂和真正花朵的可能性。

This incredible mimicry is an example of adaptive resemblance, where the insects have evolved to look like a specific object.

這種令人難以置信的擬態是適應性相似的一個例子，即昆蟲已經進化得像一個特定的物體。

This is different from the more commonplace crypsis, where animals evolve to simply blend in to their background.

這不同於更常見的隱性進化，在隱性進化中，動物只需與背景融為一體即可。

This is common in praying mantids, too.

這種情況在螳螂身上也很常見。

Many species are colored green or brown to blend into the vegetation.

許多物種被染成綠色或棕色，與植被融為一體。

Or there's the bark mantis that looks just like tree bark, or the desert mantis that looks just like sand.

或者是長得像樹皮的樹皮螳螂，或者是長得像沙子的沙漠螳螂。

But if you take a cryptic insect like this and put it on a plain background, it would still look like an insect.

但是，如果你把這樣一隻隱蔽的昆蟲放在一個普通的背景上，它看起來仍然像一隻昆蟲。

But if you take a mantis that has specialized its resemblance and put it on a plain background, that mantis would still look like an orchid.

但是，如果你把一隻長得很像的螳螂放在一個普通的背景上，這隻螳螂看起來還是會像蘭花。

Other mantids in this category look just like green leaves, or others look indistinguishable from a twig.

這一類中的其他螳螂看起來就像綠葉，或者其他螳螂看起來與樹枝無異。

This type of mimicry is so precise that researchers think some mantids evolved directly in parallel with the things they replicate.

這種模仿是如此精確，以至於研究人員認為有些螳螂是直接與它們所模仿的東西同步進化的。

But not all mantids resemble harmless sticks or flowers.

但並不是所有的螳螂都像無害的樹枝或花朵。

Many mantids resemble less than palatable things, or even things that are downright scary for their would-be predators.

許多螳螂的外形並不討人喜歡，甚至會讓捕食者感到害怕。

The orchid mantis nymphs, as we already discussed, mimic the dangerous assassin bug.

我們已經討論過，蘭花螳螂若蟲會模仿危險的刺客蟲。

The ant mantis, one of the smallest mantids, resembles a black ant in its juvenile stage.

蟻螳螂是最小的螳螂之一，幼年時期像一隻黑螞蟻。

Predators like birds and other large insects tend to avoid ants as prey because they can be aggressive, taste unpleasant, bite, or sting.

鳥類和其他大型昆蟲等捕食者往往會避免將螞蟻作為獵物，因為它們可能具有攻擊性、味道難聞、會咬人或蜇人。

But there's one mantis that punches above its weight when it comes to what it mimics.

不過，有一種螳螂在模仿的東西上卻出類拔萃。

This is the iris oratoria, also known as the Mediterranean mantis.

這是鳶尾花，又名地中海螳螂。

At first glance, it looks like a fairly regular-looking mantis.

乍一看，它就像一隻外形相當普通的螳螂。

But when threatened, it lifts its forelegs, stares straight at the threat, and lifts its eyes in a striking eyespot.

但當受到威脅時，它會抬起前腿，直盯著威脅，並抬起眼睛，形成一個引人注目的眼斑。

Even in flight, researchers think this mimicry continues to work, the eyespots resembling the eyes of a flying owl.

研究人員認為，即使在飛行過程中，這種模仿也能繼續發揮作用，眼點就像飛行貓頭鷹的眼睛。

But for all of the many camouflaging mantids out there, there's one difficult evolutionary question they face.

但是，對於所有這些會偽裝的螳螂來說，它們面臨著一個棘手的進化問題。

What happens if the leaves or flowers they mimic shrivel and die?

如果它們模仿的葉子或花朵枯萎死亡，會發生什麼情況？

What happens if the green grass they hide within turns brown in a drought?

如果它們藏身的綠草在乾旱時變成褐色，會發生什麼？

As I said before, if the orchids disappear, the orchid mantids are in serious trouble.

正如我之前所說，如果蘭花消失，蘭螳螂就會有大麻煩。

But for other mantids, if their habitat suddenly changes, it's not always so dire.

但對於其他螳螂來說，如果它們的棲息地突然發生變化，情況並不總是那麼糟糕。

Because some mantids have a surprising trick that they can implement, a trick where they can change colors.

因為有些螳螂有一個令人驚訝的小把戲，那就是變色。

The Egyptian praying mantis lives in the savannas of Africa, where it lives on grass, doing its best to blend in.

埃及螳螂生活在非洲的熱帶稀樹草原上，以草為生，盡力融入大自然。

But here, grass can change from brown to green within a few days following rain.

但在這裡，雨後幾天內，草地就能從棕色變成綠色。

However, researchers noticed that when the grass was green, the mantids were green.

不過，研究人員注意到，當草是綠色的時候，螳螂也是綠色的。

But when the grass was brown, the mantids were brown.

但當草是棕色的時候，螳螂也是棕色的。

How can this be?

這怎麼可能？

As far as we know, mantids can't change color like an octopus or chameleon, where the color change happens in seconds or minutes, triggered by hormones or neurons.

據我們所知，螳螂不能像章魚或變色龍那樣通過激素或神經元的觸發，在幾秒或幾分鐘內改變顏色。

However, they can change color when they molt.

不過，它們在蛻皮時會改變顏色。

In this species, color change during molting is triggered by the relative humidity around them.

在該物種中，蛻皮時的顏色變化是由周圍的相對溼度引發的。

When the relative humidity is low, the nymphs become brown at the next molt.

相對溼度低時，若蟲在下一次蛻皮時會變成褐色。

When the relative humidity is high, they become green.

相對溼度高時，它們會變成綠色。

And they are not the only species to do this.

它們並不是唯一這樣做的物種。

Other mantids can change color based on other stimuli.

其他螳螂會根據其他刺激改變顏色。

For some species, the change is triggered by the light intensity around them.

對於某些物種來說，這種變化是由周圍的光照強度引發的。

High intensity light causes nymphs to change from green to brown.

高強度的光線會使若蟲從綠色變成棕色。

To them, more light could indicate that the leaves of their hiding spot are shriveling and falling off due to drought, and their green color would not be of much help.

對它們來說，更多的光線可能表明它們藏身之處的樹葉因乾旱而萎縮、脫落，而它們的綠色也幫不上什麼忙。

Other species of mantids in Africa even turn from green to black at the end of the dry season when most fires occur, a coloration known as fire melanism.

非洲其他種類的螳螂甚至會在火災多發的旱季結束時由綠色變為黑色，這種變色現象被稱為 "火黑化病"。

And other flower mantids can change color when moved from one coloration of flower to another.

其他花螳螂在從一種顏色的花朵移到另一種顏色的花朵時也會變色。

All of this color changing in response to their habitat is called environmental polymorphism.

所有這些因棲息地而發生的顏色變化都被稱為環境多態性。

Mimicry in crypsis has been described as one of the most influential and illustrative examples of natural selection since the concept of evolution was discovered.

隱翅蟲的擬態被描述為自發現進化概念以來最有影響力和最能說明自然選擇的例子之一。

And the many different ways that praying mantis species use deception may be the most impressive that exist.

而螳螂物種使用欺騙的多種不同方式可能是最令人印象深刻的。

While looking at all of this visual deception, there's one more thing to consider with the praying mantis.

在看這些視覺欺騙的同時，螳螂還有一件事要考慮。

Human researchers are inevitably biased to look for crypsis and mimicry that we can see, since humans are primarily visual creatures.

人類研究人員不可避免地偏向於尋找我們能看到的隱身和擬態，因為人類主要是視覺動物。

But so much that happens in the insect world is auditory, chemical, or tactile.

但是，昆蟲世界裡發生的很多事情都是聽覺、化學或觸覺的。

As masters of deception, it's entirely possible that praying mantids are also audio mimics, or chemical ones for that matter.

作為欺騙大師，螳螂完全有可能也是聲音模仿者，或者是化學模仿者。

After all, how does the orchid mantis attract more pollinators than real flowers?

畢竟，蘭花螳螂是如何比真正的花朵吸引更多的傳粉者的呢？

Scent cues are important for pollinators to detect flowers.

氣味線索對於傳粉昆蟲發現花朵非常重要。

So it's entirely plausible that mantises also mimic the smell of the flowers they visually emulate.

是以，螳螂也模仿它們視覺上所模仿的花朵的氣味是完全有可能的。

It's an area of research that's largely unexplored, and would be mind-blowing if we could prove it to be true.

這個研究領域在很大程度上還未被探索，如果我們能證明它是真的，那將會是令人震撼的。

But that's just a bit of fun speculation.

但這只是一種有趣的猜測。

But beyond blending in to trick potential prey, how does a mantis execute its kills?

但是，螳螂除了混在潛在獵物中欺騙它們之外，它是如何實施捕殺的呢？

And how does it hunt prey so much bigger than itself?

它又是如何捕食比自己大得多的獵物的呢？

Mantises can be loosely categorized as being long-winged, short-winged, or vestigial-winged.

螳螂大致可分為長翅、短翅和殘翅。

The outer wings are usually narrow and leathery.

外翼通常很窄，呈革質。

They function as camouflage, and as a shield for the hind wings, which are much more delicate.

它們的作用是偽裝和保護後翅，因為後翅要脆弱得多。

When not in use, the wings are held close together over their body, giving them a streamlined appearance.

不使用時，翅膀緊貼在身體上，給人一種流線型的感覺。

Whether a praying mantis can fly depends greatly on the species.

螳螂能否飛行在很大程度上取決於其種類。

Praying mantises primarily use their wings for short bursts of flight or gliding while hunting or escaping predators.

螳螂在捕食或躲避捕食者時，主要利用翅膀進行短距離飛行或滑翔。

They can also use their wings as a defense mechanism, by spreading them out suddenly and making loud noises that startle potential threats.

它們還可以利用翅膀作為一種防禦機制，突然張開翅膀併發出巨大的聲響，嚇唬潛在的威脅。

However, not all praying mantids have wings.

不過，並非所有螳螂都有翅膀。

Some are wingless.

有些沒有翅膀。

And mantids like this get around through incredibly accurate jumping.

而像這樣的螳螂是通過令人難以置信的準確跳躍來四處遊蕩的。

Researchers found that wingless, juvenile thorny-armed praying mantises can jump from a horizontal surface to a vertical one, two body lengths away, with nearly 100% accuracy.

研究人員發現，沒有翅膀的幼年荊棘臂螳螂可以從水平面跳到兩個身長的垂直面，準確率幾乎達到 100%。

The high level of accuracy here is enabled by the rotation of their abdomen about the thorax.

由於腹部圍繞胸部旋轉，是以準確度很高。

Once airborne, they then transfer angular momentum to the other parts of their body and make a precise landing.

一旦升空，它們就會將角動量傳遞到身體的其他部位，然後準確著陸。

Researchers discovered just how important the transfer of angular momentum is for their jump by gluing a mantid's abdominal parts together so it couldn't properly rotate.

研究人員通過將螳螂的腹部粘在一起，使其無法正常旋轉，發現角動量的傳遞對它們的跳躍有多麼重要。

The accuracy of the jump itself wasn't really impeded.

跳躍本身的準確性並沒有受到什麼影響。

The mantises still reached their target, but couldn't rotate their bodies into the correct position, so crashed face-first into it.

螳螂們仍然到達了目標，但無法將身體旋轉到正確的位置，所以臉朝下撞了上去。

But winged or wingless, big or small, all mantids have greatly enlarged forelegs adapted for catching and gripping prey.

但是，無論有翅還是無翅，無論體型大小，所有螳螂的前肢都非常粗大，適於捕捉和抓住獵物。

When stationary, these legs remain folded at the front of their bodies, giving them the name praying mantis.

靜止時，這些腿摺疊在身體前部，是以得名螳螂。

Also known as raptorial claws, these front legs are highly specialized for grasping onto prey.

這些前肢也被稱為猛禽爪，具有抓取獵物的高度特化功能。

They're made up of five segments.

它們由五個部分組成。

In praying mantids, the coxa is unusually long for an insect leg and is covered in spines.

螳螂的跗關節對於昆蟲腿來說異常長，而且佈滿了刺。

The femur and tibia are similarly covered in tubercles.

股骨和脛骨上同樣佈滿了小瘤。

These spines and tubercles enable the mantis to grab