昆虫也疯狂：围观世界上最大昆虫—沙螽.doc

昆虫也疯狂：围观世界上最大昆虫——沙螽 This is the worlds largest insect. 这是世界上最大的昆虫。 The giant?weta?is a cricket-like creature with a wingspan of close to seven inches. The one in the picture, isnt just the largest weta, its the worlds largest insect ever photographed. 这只长有7英寸翼展的巨大沙螽和蟋蟀长得有点像。照片中的这只并不是沙螽中体型最大的，最大的沙螽还没有被人拍到过。 Renowned entomologist Mark Moffett found the amazing bug after two days of searching New Zealands Little Barrier Island. The species was previously found on the New Zealand mainland, but had been virtually?annihilated?by rats introduced by Europeans. 著名昆虫学家Mark Moffett是在新西兰小巴里尔岛经过两天找寻后才发现照片中这只沙螽的。这种昆虫之前被人在新西兰发现过，但是几乎已经被从欧洲引进的老鼠给吃光了。 Moffett, 53, located the weta in a tree and proceeded to feed her a carrot. 53岁的Moffett在一棵树上找到了这种沙螽，并开始用胡萝卜喂它。 She enjoyed the carrot so much she seemed to ignore the fact she was resting on our hands and carried on munching away, Moffett said in a press release. She would have finished the carrot very quickly, but this is an extremely endangered species and we didnt want to risk indigestion. “她很喜欢吃胡萝卜，她都没注意到自己停在我们的手上，只顾着大口大口地吃着胡萝卜，”Moffett说。“她很快就把胡萝卜吃光了，这是一种濒临灭绝的物种，我们可不想把她弄得消化不良。” Moffett, who said the creature weighed about as much as three mice, quickly let go after the photos were taken. Moffett说，这只沙螽的重量差不多和三只老鼠的一样重，在拍了照片之后就把它放走了。