第2292期:Glow-worms under threat due to light pollution from streetlights

Glow-worms are beetles that live in gardens, hedgerows, and heathlands. Emitting a bright green light at night, the females climb up plant stems and glow in order to attract males, who have large eyes sensitive to that type of light.

萤火虫是一种生活在花园、灌木树篱和荒野中的甲虫。在夜间发出明亮绿光的雌性萤火虫爬到植物的茎上并发光，以吸引对这种光敏感的大眼睛的雄性。

Zoologists, though, say the glare of white, artificial lights is putting the females in the comparative shade.

然而，动物学家们表示，刺眼的白色人造光使雌性萤火虫黯然失色。

In order to verify their suspicions, the researchers did a little test – placing male glow-worms in an LED-lit, Y-shaped maze, they gradually made the lights there brighter until the males could no longer find a decoy female.

为了验证他们的猜测，研究人员们做了一个小型试验——将雄性萤火虫放在一个由发光二极管照明的 “Y” 形迷宫中，他们逐渐调亮迷宫里的人造光，直到雄性萤火虫再也找不到发光吸引它们的雌性萤火虫。

The glow-worms, they believe, were unable to move towards the decoy because they were dazzled.

研究人员们认为，雄性萤火虫之所以无法向起吸引作用的雄性萤火虫移动是因为它们被刺眼的人造光照得眼花缭乱。

The spread of bright lights, then, could have devastating consequences for glow-worm populations around the world. And some studies suggest they're disappearing altogether. And a widespread decline in insects could have serious consequences for agriculture and the ecosystems that depend upon those insects.

那么，愈发常见的明亮人造光可能会对世界各地的萤火虫种群造成毁灭性的后果。有一些研究表明，萤火虫正在成群消失。而昆虫数量的普遍减少可能会对依赖昆虫的农业及生态系统造成严重的后果。

词汇表

glow-worms 萤火虫
beetles 甲虫
hedgerows 灌木树篱
heathlands 荒原，荒野
emitting 发出，散发（光）
stems （植物的）茎
glare 刺眼的光芒
put someone in the shade 使某人黯然失色，使某人相形见绌
maze 迷宫
decoy 吸引物，诱惑物
dazzled 被照得眼花缭乱的
widespread 普遍的，广泛的