4 Acrobatic Worms

When a moth or butterfly first hatches from the egg, it is in the wormlike larva stage. After a period of development, the larva spins a cocoon, and eventually a full-grown moth or butterfly emerges. But who has ever heard of a moth emerging from a vegetable seed?

There is a kind of moth that emerges from the Mexican jumping bean. The bean is actually a seed that grows on a shrub resembling the rubber tree. The flowers of this shrub are put to a very unusual use. Huge swarms of moths, thick as clouds, hover over the blossoms and deposit their eggs among the petals. After a while, the eggs hatch into tiny caterpillars, which bore into the hollow seeds of the plant. Once inside, the larvae survive by slowly eating the walls of their new homes—the inner tissue of the seeds!

When the worms chew the walls or wriggle inside the beans, the Mexican jumping beans begin to roll and hop. The larvae must stay away from direct sunlight, or the beans’ centers become dangerously hot. So, when sun shines on a bean, the larva begins jumping inside until the bean rolls to a shady spot. The warmer it gets, the faster the bean rolls and hops.

The exact distance that a bean can jump has not been measured, but people who have watched these beans jump say it is quite impressive. Considering its size, the tiny larva is a powerful athlete.

4 杂技蠕虫

当飞蛾或蝴蝶从卵中孵化出来时，它处于蠕虫状的幼虫阶段。经过一段时间的发育，幼虫会结茧，最终长成的飞蛾或蝴蝶会破茧而出。但谁听说过飞蛾是从蔬菜种子里钻出来的呢？

有一种飞蛾是从墨西哥跳豆里钻出来的。这种豆实际上是一种长在类似橡胶树的灌木上的种子。这种灌木的花被用在了非常不寻常的地方：大群大群的飞蛾像云一样密集，在花朵上方盘旋，把卵产在花瓣之间。过了一会儿，卵孵化成小毛毛虫，这些毛毛虫会钻进植物的空心种子里。一旦进入内部，幼虫就靠慢慢啃食它们新家的墙壁——也就是种子的内部组织——生存下来！

当蠕虫啃咬豆壁或在豆内蠕动时，墨西哥跳豆就会开始滚动和跳跃。幼虫必须远离阳光直射，否则豆的中心会变得热得危险。所以，当阳光照在豆子上时，幼虫会在里面开始跳跃，直到豆子滚到阴凉的地方。温度越高，豆子滚动和跳跃的速度就越快。

豆子能跳的精确距离还没有被测量过，但看过这些豆子跳跃的人说这相当令人印象深刻。考虑到它的体型，这只小小的幼虫是个强大的运动员。