我们的世界并非一成不变 Our world is not always the same.
我们的眼前就隐藏着另一个世界 Hidden from our view lies a different world.
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那里的生物与我们截然不同 Creatures utterly unlike us,
时间轴&特效：
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仿若来自外星 almost alien,
它们是世上数量最庞大的生物群体 yet they are more numerous than any other group on the planet.
压制&封装：
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欢迎来到美妙的节肢动物世界 Welcome to the fascinating world of the arthropods.
蜘蛛、蝎子和昆虫 Spiders, scorpions and insects.
如今我们有了先进的摄像技术 Today we have new camera techniques
这使得我们可以比以往更为细致地 that will allow us to review in greater details
研究它们的生活 than ever before of their lives.
它们争斗、进食 The way they fight and feed
和繁殖的方式 and reproduce.
本系列运用专门开发的3D摄像技术 This series uses specially-developed 3D camera technology
分别从野外和人造环境 to study the micro world
对这个微型世界 in extraordinary detail,
进行极其详尽的研究 both on location and in specially-constructed environments.
我们研究它们的诞生 We'll witness their birth,
它们所面临的挑战 the challenges they face,
以及它们命悬一线的时刻 and the moment when their lives hang in the balance.
这或许有助于我们理解 And that may help us understand how it is
为什么如今全世界80%的动物 that today over 80% of all animal species on this planet
都是节肢动物 are arthropods.
我们在本系列中将会了解到它们是 In the series, we will see the way they have evolved
如何从比较简单的马陆发展成 from the comparative simplicity of the millipede
包含数百甚至数百万个体的群体 to vast colonies that contain hundreds, even millions of individuals.
我们将目睹动物王国最非凡的变化 We'll witness the most extraordinary transmissions in the animal kingdom.
我们会看到蚂蚁耕作 We will meet ants that farm,
蜘蛛抛网捕猎 spiders that can cast their webs
虫子利用猎物遗体伪装自己 and the bug that wears the bodies of his victims as a disguise.
欢迎来到这个奇异而危险的世界！ Welcome to a strange and dangerous world!
大卫·爱登堡
微型怪物
繁 殖
每一种动物都需要繁殖 Every species of animal must reproduce.
否则就会走向灭绝 If it didn't, it will go extinct.
节肢动物演化出了众多的繁殖方式 And arthropods have developed many ways of doing so,
从求偶和交配 from courtship and mating
到产卵 to egg laying,
从幼虫的孵化 the hatching of the larvae
到对新生儿的照顾 to caring for the newly-born young,
而且一些昆虫为了应对繁殖挑战 and some insects meet the reproductive challenge
将生命周期一分为二 by splitting their life cycle in two.
这一切都是为了能繁育后代 And all in order to produce offspring
并确保它们在生命之初就占有先机 and ensure they get the best possible start in life.
节肢动物在这方面的成功 The arthropods success in doing so
令它们成了 has led them to becoming
地球上形态最为繁多的一类动物 one of the most abundant forms of animals on this planet.
有一种生活在马达加斯加林地 In the woodlands of Madagascar and
和南非部分地区的蜘蛛 parts of Southern Africa lives a spider
其雄性为了配偶和繁育后代 that has to rely on stealth
必须依赖于隐形术 in order to mate and father young.
这是一只雄性大木林蛛 This the male golden orb-web spider.
它出生于两个月前 He hatched two month ago
现在正在寻找配偶 and is now looking for a mate.
它发现了一只雌蛛结的网 He's found a female's web
潜藏在了网的边缘 and is lurking at its edge.
这是一只雌蛛 This is a female.
它是蜘蛛里的巨无霸 As spiders go, he's huge.
它的身体就和人的大拇指一样长 Her body alone is as long as your thumb
腿可以展开到15厘米左右 and her legs spans some 15 centimeters.
雌蛛的体型大约是雄蛛的20倍 She's about 20 times the size of the male.
不仅如此 Not only that,
雌蛛是胃口巨大的 she's a deadly predator
致命捕食者 with a voracious appetite.
因此对于雄蛛而言，交配相当危险 And all these make mating a risky business for the male.
它们求偶故事的导火线 The start of their courtship
是雌蛛捕捉到的一只昆虫 is triggered by the insect the female has already captured.
雌蛛因美食而分心 She is distracted by it,
这让雄蛛有机可乘 so he seizes his opportunity.
它开始小心翼翼地靠近雌蛛 He cautiously begins an approach.
颤颤巍巍地爬上了雌蛛的腹部 He climbs very tentatively onto her abdomen.
现在它已经就位 Now he's in position,
留下了自己的精液 he deposits his sperm.
大功告成 Success.
警惕令它 His alertness has save him
免于成为雌蛛的下一餐美餐 from becoming the female's next meal.
它短暂的一生只会交配一次 He will only mate once in his short life.
这就是它得到的回报 And this is his reward.
它成了这个卵囊里400多枚 He is father to the 400 or so eggs
蛛卵的父亲 in this egg sack.
几周之后 A few weeks later,
幼蛛孵化出来了 the young emerge from it.
每只小蜘蛛仅有针尖那么大 The spiderlings are each no bigger than a pinhead.
起初 To begin with,
它们就在孵育它们的卵囊附近活动 they stay close to the egg sack from which they emerged,
蜕皮 they molt,
30天之后 and then after 30 days,
它们开始分散到各处 they start to disperse.
大木林蛛的寿命仅有一年 Golden orb-web spiders live for only a year.
交配就是它们生命的顶峰期 Mating is the culmination of their lives.
但对于一些生物而言 For some creatures though,
它们缺少用于交配的时间 time is simply too short for mating.
所以雌性不依靠雄性进行繁殖 So the females reproduce without a male.
春天是大部分节肢动物孵化的季节 Spring is the season when most arthropod eggs hatch.
但在气候寒冷的地区 But in colder climates,
春季姗姗来迟 spring arrives late
而夏季转瞬即逝 and the summer is short
没有多少时间用于交配 leaving little time to mate
并让幼虫长到足够强壮 and for the young to go strong enough
在即将到来的冬季中幸存下来 to survive the coming winter.
长踦收割蛛是盲蛛的一种 Megabunus, a species of harvestman,
它对此应对有道 has a way of dealing with that.
雌性长踦生活在高山森林 The female lives in alpine forests
整个寒冷的冬季 and spends the freezing winter
它都躲在落叶之下 sheltered in the leaf litter.
它在春季出穴，开始猎食 She emerges in spring and starts to hunt.
它的长腿帮它蹒跚爬过苔藓 Her long legs help her to tumble over the moss.
它的腿相当长 In fact, her legs are so long
因此上面带有呼吸孔 that she has breathing holes in them
直接为腿部供氧 to supply them directly with oxygen.
但为了延续物种 But she must reproduce
它必须进行繁殖 if the species is to survive.
而它选择了 So she does so
无性繁殖 without mating.
它会产下未受精的卵 She lays unfertilized eggs
孵化出与自己基因完全一样的副本 which hatch into exact genetic copies of herself -
克隆 clones.
长踦蛛为了让繁殖方式适应严寒 Megabunus has adapted her reproduction to the harsh climate
而牺牲了两性繁殖 and so sacrifice the genetic variation
带来的遗传变异 that could have come with sex.
但在温和气候下的其它植食者 But other plant eaters in gentle climate
也选择了相同的方法 use the same technic
来充分利用随春天而来的 to take advantage of the glut of food
丰足食物 that comes with spring.
蚜虫也克隆自己的后代 Aphids also clone they offspring
更有甚者 and what is more,
雌蚜虫能生出活跃的后代 a female produces her young alive.
而且它一天 And she can do so
能复制十次甚至更多 ten times a day or more.
不仅如此 Not only that,
它的每个后代 each of her offspring
在几天内就会开始繁殖自己的后代 will start producing young of their own within days.
如果一只雌蚜虫的后代全都活下来 If the descendents of a single female all survived,
到夏末之时 它们的数量 they would, by the end of summer,
能达到六千亿只 number 600 billion,
它们都是一模一样的克隆品 all of them identical clones.
但随着冬天的临近 But as the winter approaches,
蚜虫们改变了它们的繁殖方式 the aphids change their way of reproducing.
开始产卵 They lay eggs.
蚜虫无法活过寒冬 Aphids cannot survive the cold of the winter,
但卵比较耐寒，并在来年春天孵化 but the eggs are hardy and will hatch next spring.
到那时，蚜虫的数量 And then once again,
会再一次爆发 the aphid population will explode.
我们星球上百万种节肢动物 The million or so species of arthropod on our planet
将它们的繁殖方式 have matched the way they reproduce
与特定的生活环境相协调 to suit the particular environment in which they live.
它们大多产卵 Most of them lay eggs
有些的产卵数量简直大得惊人 and some do so in scarcely believable numbers.
其中一种寄生在刺猬身上 One such lives on a hedgehog.
硬蜱是一种壁虱 Ixodes is a tick,
一种寄生虫 a parasite.
雌虫非常适应刺猬身上的生活 The female is so well adapted to life on a hedgehog
它极少生活在别处 that she rarely lives anywhere else.
身旁就有着源源不断的 She has a limitless supply of food
食物供给： immediately beside her -
鲜血 blood.
它会一直呆在刺猬身上 She stays on the hedgehog
直到准备好产卵 until she's ready to lay her eggs.
那时它会松手 Then she lets go,
落到地上 falls to ground
并在灌丛里产下自己的卵 and starts to deposit her eggs in the undergrowth.
卵的重量占它体重的一半 The eggs make up 50 percent of her entire bodyweight.
它能产下大约五千枚卵 She can lay around 5,000 of them
这要花上20天才能产完 and it takes her up to 20 days to lay them all.
它产这么多卵的目的是要确保 Producing so many is her way of ensuring
至少有一、两个孩子 that at least one or two of her young
能够找到自己的刺猬宿主 will find their own hedgehog host.
对于那些找到的 For those that do,
这个循环又再次开启了 the cycle can begin again.
当硬蜱把卵全部产完之后 By the time Ixodes has produced them all,
原本丰腴的身体瘪了下来 her once plump body is deflated
它也死了 and she dies.
包括蝴蝶在内的一些昆虫 Some insects, among them butterflies,
演化出了一种生长方式 have developed a way of growing
要经历非常惊人的形态变化 that involves a truly astonishing transformation.
这是一只袖蝶 This is a Heliconius butterfly
而这个 and this
是它的后代 is its offspring -
毛虫 a caterpillar.
它们俩看起来像是完全不同的物种 The two look as though they are completely different creatures,
然而事实并非如此 but, of course, they are not.
蝴蝶将自己的生命一分为二 The butterfly has divided its life into two halves.
前半程是毛虫 The first half, a caterpillar,
几乎完全是在 is devoted almost exclusively
觅食和成长 to gathering food and growing.
后半程是成虫 And the second, the adult,
几乎完全致力于繁殖 is devoted almost entirely to reproduction.
成年蝴蝶以花蜜为食 Adult butterflies feed on nectar
它们靠触角来确定位置 which they locate with their antennae,
用脚来进行品尝 taste through their feet
并且用长管形的口器进食 and collect with long tube-like mouth parts.
这种富含糖分的食物 This sugar-rich food
为它们寻找配偶提供能量 fuels their search for a mate.
一旦雄蝶和雌蝶互相发现彼此 Once the male and female have found one another,
雄蝶就会用腹部末端的特别卷须 the male uses special claspers at the end of his abdomen
将精液传给雌蝶 to transfer his sperm to her.
雌袖蝶受精后 Once fertilized,
会选择把自己的卵 the female Heliconius lays her eggs
产在西番莲的叶子上 on the leaves of the passion flower plant.
它的小毛虫非常挑食 Her young, the caterpillars, are fussy eaters
它们几乎只吃这些叶子 and these leaves are almost the only ones they will eat.
雌蝶会产下50枚卵 She lays around 50 eggs
然后它的任务就完成了 and then her work is done.
大约一周之后 About a week later,
毛虫孵化出来 the caterpillars emerge.
它们基本上就是进食机器 They are little more than eating machines
孵化后就立刻开始运转 and they get out and work immediately.
有一些在一、两个月后 Some, over a month or two,
能长到初生尺寸的40倍 can grow to 40 times their original size.
它们有用于防御掠食者的防护刺 They have protective spines to ward off their predators
但是没有用于繁殖的性器官 but no reproductive organs.
等到它们长得足够大了 Then, when they have grown enough,
行为就会发生变化 their behavior changes.
它们停止进食 They stop eating
迁入一个合适的休憩地 and settle in a suitable resting place.
之后它们的皮肤硬化形成壳 Then their skin hardens to form a shell.
这就是蛹 This is a chrysalis.
如果我们能够看到内部 If we could see inside,
就能见证动物王国里 we would witness one of the most extraordinary changes
最非凡的变化之一： in the animal kingdom -
蜕变 metamorphosis.
毛虫的一些部位发生了转变 Some parts of the caterpillar are transformed
而另一些则彻底消失了 and others disappeared completely.
毛虫拥有巨大的肠子 The caterpillar had a massive gut
用于消化食物 for processing food.
这些肠道会萎缩，因为蜂蜜要比 That shrinks for nectar will be easier to digest
毛虫吃的叶子更易于消化 than the leaves the caterpillar consumed.
口器也发生了变化 The mouth part has changed.
成虫不需要咀嚼用的颚 The adult need not munching jaws
而是喙管 but a tuber tunnel.
毛虫的单眼也发生了转变 The caterpillar's simple eyes also transform.
寻找配偶对良好视力的要求 Searching for a mate needs better eyesight
要比寻找树叶更高 than finding leaves.
它的头上长出触角 Antennae sprout from its head.
这能帮助它们嗅到 It will use them to sniff out
雌蝶或是鲜花的气味 the scent of a female or flower.
最后 And finally,
是翅膀 its wings.
翅膀的形状和颜色能吓退掠食者 Their shape and color will warn off predators
并使它能够找到并选择合适的配偶 and enable it to find and select a suitable mate.
在经过了8天的转型之后 An adult Heliconius butterfly emerges
成年袖蝶破茧而出了 after 8 days of transformation.
它纤弱的翅膀皱缩而湿漉 Its delicate wings are crumpled and wet.
它将血液抽进双翅以延展它们 It stretches them by pumping blood along their veins
待双翅变干之后 and then waits for them to dry
再尝试飞翔 before attempting to fly.
从这一刻起 From this point on,
它的身体将不再生长和变化 its body will not grow or change.
它将只能活上一、两个月 It will live for just a month or two
仅仅摄入维生所需的食物量 and feed just enough to keep itself going.
这个身体完全是用于交配的 This body is purely for mating.
雄性的触角 A male's antennae
能在一公里外 can detect female's scent
探测到雌蝶的气味 from more than a kilometer away.
它动身去寻找雌蝶了 And he's off to find a female.
和所有物种一样 Success for this butterfly is reproduction
对于这只蝴蝶来说繁殖就是成功 as it is for all species.
这种需求塑造了 And that need has shaped
所有节肢动物的身体 the bodies, the behavior,
行为、以及整个生命周期 entire life cycle of all arthropods
并且形成了当今世界上我们身边 and produced the dazzling range of forms
所见到的各种缤纷的形态 that we see around us in the world today.
每一代都需要繁殖 Every generation must reproduce itself.
如果做不到 If it does not,
这个物种就将消失 the species will disappear.
从纤小狡猾的雄性大木林蛛 From the cunning tiny male golden orb-web spider
到为充分利用夏季 to the amazingly fertile aphids
选择无性繁殖且繁育力惊人的蚜虫 that clone themselves to make the most of summer
还有为了产卵离开刺猬寄主的硬蜱 and the tick that leaves its hedgehog host to lay its eggs,
这些节肢动物进化出了 the arthropods have evolved reproductive strategies
异常奇妙的繁殖策略 that are surely among the most fascinating,
写下了自然界中 almost unbelievable stories
令人惊叹的故事 in the natural world.
在下集节目中 In our next program,
我将会探索繁殖之后发生的事情 I'll be looking at what happens after reproduction.
四亿多年前 Over 400 million years ago,
一些早期的节肢动物 some early arthropods
开始照顾它们的后代 began to care for their young
并且开始群居 and to live in groups.
对于这些虫子 And for these too,
生命不仅仅是活着 life was about more than just staying alive.
这也意味着给下一代创造 It was about giving the next generation
最好的生存机会 the best chance of survival.