10 Most Incredible Insect Invasions 十大奇异虫灾

马尔库斯·布莱克

You dont fool with Mother Nature！ Some of the worst invasions in history have been natural—bugs in particular have brought havoc1 and destruction to people， places， animals and things for thousands of years.

The story of Pharaoh refusing to let the Hebrew people （or Israelites） leave Egypt in the book of Exodus comes to mind when you think of insect invasions. It was written that God created 10 plagues as demonstrations of power and displeasure designed to persuade Pharaoh to free the Israelites. Through Moses， God released a plague of locusts that covered the land and consumed all of the remaining Egyptian crops.

Here is a list of some incredible insect invasions that have confounded people and brought jaw-dropping destruction.

1. The insects that ate money

Weve heard of money-hungry people， but these insects were literally hungry for money！

In 2011， at a bank in the northern town of Lucknow， India， a bank manager opened a steel chest in an old reinforced2 room. To his shock， he discovered that an army of termites had eaten through 10 million rupees （$222，000） in currency notes stored in the chest at the bank.

The bank manager told the press， “Its a matter of investigation how termites attacked bundles of currency notes stacked in a steel chest.” The money was put in the chest in January of that year.

2. The caterpillars that slimed3 a car

In 2009， a car in Rotterdam， Holland was “attacked” by thousands of spindle ermine moth caterpillars when they left a giant silk web that literally covered the vehicle.

The caterpillars devoured a tree in a park in the Dutch city and migrated over to a nearby carpark where they spun their webs for protection from wasps and birds before they pupate4.

The caterpillars turned to moths about four weeks later and bye-bye caterpillar invasion.

3. The insect invasion so large it showed up on radar

If you live in the city of Albuquerque， New Mexico， you might have noticed the grasshopper population has grown. A lot. In 2014， the worst infestation5 of grasshoppers in twenty years hit this southwestern city.

The air is so dense with bugs that it appears on radar！

As Professor David Richman at New Mexico State University explained： “There wasnt enough winter to kill the egg pots. Because of the dry winter the eggs survived， hence the outbreak of grasshoppers.”

4. A “bugnado6” of aquatic insects invades Iowa cornfields

In 2011， a cloud of aquatic insects， known as midges， swept across the fields of Iowa. Footage of this ominous cloud of bugs， dubbed a “bugnado，” quickly blew up on social media. Although， the bugnado looked like an evil， crop-destroying invasion， the insects are pretty harmless overall.

These large swarms can be attributed to the males being in reproductive mode. As entomologist Joe Keiper of the Museum of Natural History of Virginia told Weekend Edition Saturday， “The males are essentially nothing more than flying sperm packets. They will fertilize a female and will die and fall to the ground shortly afterward.”

5. The beetles that bagged a biker

Beetlemania has hit the Gold Coast in Australia！ No， were not talking about the Fab Four7s Beatlemania， were talking about thousands of water beetles that invaded the east coast of the Australian city in 2011.

Ken Tompkins was riding his bike along the Esplanade at Surfers Paradise when he skid into a mound of dead beetles. He shattered his hip， collarbone and ribs and was bedridden8 for six weeks recovering from his injuries.

Scientists are quite baffled at this bevy9 of bugs.

6. A volcano caused an insect and snake invasion

In 1902， when Mt. Pelée， a volcano located on French Caribbean island Martinique， became active it spewed10 sulfurous gasses and ash and caused large tremors in the area. The tremor and ash combo caused by the newly active volcano drove thousands of insects and venomous snakes into the neighboring villages. The snake and insect invasion killed an estimated 50 humans and around 200 animals.

Mt. Pelée was one mean volcano！ When it erupted， it also obliterated11 the nearby city St. Pierre. Of approximately 28，000 people in St. Pierre， there were only two known survivors. The eruption is one of historys worst volcano disasters.

7. The ants that eat through electric wiring

Houston， we have a problem—an ant problem！ Billions of Rasberry Crazy ants are taking over Texas largest city. These red-brown ants are extremely tough critters12—they have been known to even go head to head with13 the dreaded fire ants！

Crazy ants spread at an alarmingly fast rate and seem to be much more interested in electrical equipment than food. They eat through any and every electrical device possible. And chew through insulation， causing short circuits and all sorts of havoc.

Tom Rasberry， the local exterminator credited with discovering these tiny insects， has seen cases in where hes been in houses and “where every time you took a step youd literally be stepping on thousands of ants with each step.” There are so many in some areas of infested houses that it looks like the ground is moving. Rasberry also says that the ants invade so quickly that “in no time， a one-acre field can be covered with 15 to 20 billion ants.”

8. The cicada invasion that happens every 17 years

If you live on the east coast of the United States， youve probably experienced invasions of cicadas. You would know if you experienced the invasion of these bugs because the racket the male cicadas make can be extremely deafening. The buzzing has been measured at being up to 94 earsplitting decibels.

These winged creatures have been biding their time14 to come to the surface. When in wingless nymph15 form， cicadas spend 13 to 17 years a few feet underground， sucking on tree roots. They emerge only when the ground temperature reaches 64 degrees Fahrenheit. After a few weeks up in the trees， they will die and their offspring will go underground for another 13 to 17 years.

What do they do when they come up？ They have sex. Hence， the loud sound that the males make is a mating call.

Since fifteen broods of the cicada emerge every 13 to 17 years so， somewhere on the east coast every year there is an invasion. Were talking a HUGE invasion too！ Researchers estimate there are 30 billion to 1 trillion cicadas lurking underground waiting to come up at just the right moment.

9. The yellow jackets that filled a car

In 2006， insect experts noticed that giant yellow jacket nests have been turning up in old barns， houses and other cavernous places all over southern Alabama.

Specialists said it could have been the result of a mild winter and drought conditions， or multiple queens forcing worker yellow jackets to enlarge their quarters so the queens could be in separate areas （a colony could have multiple queens）.

Entomologist Dr. Charles Ray at the Alabama Cooperative Extension System in Auburn discovered a huge nest that filled the interior of a weathered 1955 Chevy parked in a local barn. A nest that started out the size of an automobile tire quickly spread to fill the entire vehicle， even spreading into the barn， about 300 yards away.

10. Fishflies block traffic in Minnesota

In 1957， Hastings， Minnesota experienced an incredibly bizarre invasion of fishflies. There were so many of these bugs that they actually caused a drift， wrecking havoc on the local roadways.

Millions of fishflies piled up so high that they created a 2? foot bug-drift in the middle of the local bridge， making the roads slick and preventing cars from getting through.

The police and the fire department were called， but thanks to the effort of the local teen club， the Cavalier Auto Club， motorists were able to get through. The teens spent over an hour pushing automobiles through the mountain of bugs.

1 havoc破坏，混乱。

2 reinforced加固的，强化的。  3 slime涂上黏液。  4 pupate（昆虫）变成蛹。

5 infestation（昆虫、老鼠等）大量滋生，大批出没。  6作者用bug（虫子）和tornado（龙卷风）组合而成的自造词。

7英国摇滚乐队The Beatles（披头士乐队）的昵称。  8 bedridden（因生病或年老）卧床不起的。  9 bevy一群。  10 spew喷出，吐出。  11 obliterate毁灭，抹去。

12 critter生物或动物的非正式说法。  13 go head to head with与……实力不相上下。

14 bide ones time（耐心）等待時机。  15 nymph蛹。

别不拿大自然当回事！历史上一些最严重的侵害都来源于自然——尤其是虫子，它们对人、地、动物和物品的破坏和毁灭已延续了几千年。

想到昆虫灾害，《圣经·出埃及记》中法老拒绝让希伯来人（或古以色列人）离开埃及的故事便会浮上脑海。据记载，神为显示自己的力量和不满，降下了十灾，以迫使法老释放希伯来人。神借摩西之手降下灾难，放出漫山遍野的蝗虫，将埃及剩余的庄稼啃食殆尽。

下列奇异虫灾不仅令人费解，还造成了惊人的破坏。

1. 昆虫吃钱

只听说过嗜财之人，竟也有真爱吃钱的昆虫！

2011年，印度北部城市勒克瑙一家银行的经理打开置于老旧加固房间中的一个钢柜，惊讶地发现一群白蚁蛀穿了存放其中的1000万卢比（约22.2万美元）纸币。

该银行经理告诉媒体：“白蚁如何损坏了存放在钢柜中的纸币，这还有待调查。”钱是同年1月放入库中的。

2. 毛毛虫黏车

2009年，荷兰鹿特丹的一辆汽车遭到数千只卫矛巢蛾幼虫的“进攻”，虫子留下的巨型丝网几乎笼罩全车。

那些幼虫在吞噬了鹿特丹某公园中的一棵树后，迁徙至附近的停车场，结下抵御黄蜂和鸟类的保护网，之后变成了虫蛹。

大约四周之后，幼虫破蛹成蛾，入侵告一段落。

3.虫害规模大到被雷达捕获

美国新墨西哥州阿尔伯克基的居民或许已经注意到蚱蜢变多了，而且多了很多。2014年，这座西南部城市遭遇了20年来最严重的蚱蜢入侵。

空气中的虫子如此密集，连雷达上都有显示了！

新墨西哥州立大学教授戴维·里奇曼解释说：“冬季太暖，不足以杀死虫卵。虫卵由于气候干燥得以越冬，从而造成蚱蜢数量猛增。”

4. 水生昆虫“虫卷风”入侵艾奥瓦州玉米地

2011年，一大群名为蠓的水生昆虫扫荡了美国艾奥瓦州的田野。这群黑压压的虫子被称为“虫卷风”，相关视频在社交网络上迅速传播。尽管虫卷风看似一场破坏庄稼的灾害，但这种昆虫总体而言不具危害性。

这些虫子大批出现可能要归结于雄蠓处于繁殖状态。弗吉尼亚自然历史博物馆的昆虫学家乔·凯博告诉美国全国公共广播电台《周末版（周六）》节目：“雄虫本质上不过是飞行的精袋。它们令雌虫受孕，然后很快死去落地。”

5. 甲壳虫摞倒骑车人

甲壳虫狂潮席卷了澳大利亚黄金海岸！不，我指的可不是风靡一时的甲壳虫乐队，而是2011年入侵这座澳大利亚城市东海岸的数千只水甲虫。

肯·汤普金斯沿着冲浪天堂的滨海大道骑行时，滑倒在了一堆甲壳虫的尸体上，摔伤了臀部、锁骨和肋骨，为养伤卧床六周不起。

科学家也无法解释这堆虫子是怎么回事。

6. 火山导致虫蛇入侵

1902年，法属加勒比海马提尼克岛上的培雷火山开始喷发，喷射出含硫气体和火山灰，造成所在区域剧烈震动。火山新近喷发所带来的震动和灰烬将数千昆虫和毒蛇驱赶至邻近的村落。这次蛇虫灾害夺去了大约50人和200只动物的生命。

培雷火山实在凶残！其爆发还摧毁了附近的城市圣皮埃尔。全市约2.8万人，已知幸存者仅2人。这是有史以来最严重的火山灾害之一。

7. 蚂蚁咬穿电线

休斯敦遇到麻烦了——蚂蚁带来的麻烦！数十亿只拉斯贝里狂蚁占领了美国得克萨斯州这座最大的城市。这些棕红色的蚂蚁可是了不得的生物，据说和恐怖的火蚁势均力敌！

疯狂的蚂蚁以令人担忧的速度迅猛扩散，且似乎对电力设备比对食物更感兴趣。它们咬穿了所有能接触到的电力设施，还啃掉绝缘层，造成短路等各种各样的破坏。

据说是当地一位叫汤姆·拉斯贝里的职业灭虫人发现了这些小昆虫，在他去过的一些房子里，“每走一步都会踩到几千只蚂蚁”。一些遭受虫害的住宅里，蚂蚁多到地面看上去都在移动。拉斯贝里补充道，蚂蚁的入侵十分迅速，“1英亩田地转瞬就能被150至200亿只蚂蚁覆盖”。

8. 蝉灾每17年暴发一次

住在美国东海岸的人或许都经历过蝉灾。雄蝉的鸣叫震耳欲聋，亲身经历过就明白有多烦了。据测量，刺耳的蝉鸣高达94分贝。

这些有翅生物一直在静待亮相的时机。蝉在长出翅膀之前，会以蛹的形式在地下数英尺处依靠吮吸树根生活13至17年。只有当地面温度达到64华氏度时，它们才会破土而出，在树上待几周后便死去，而它们的后代又将在地下开始新一轮13至17年的生活。

那蝉出来后都做些什么呢？交配。因此雄性发出的响亮鸣叫是一首求偶之歌。

因为有15群周期蝉每13至17年现身一次，所以东海岸某地几乎每年都会迎来一次蝉灾。规模也不小呢！研究人员估计，地下潜伏着300亿至1万亿只蝉，只等合适的时机破土现身。

9. 黄蜂占满整辆车

2006年，昆虫专家注意到，美国整个亚拉巴马州南部的旧谷仓、房屋和其他巨穴般空旷的地方都出现了巨型黄蜂巢。

专家称，这可能是暖冬和干旱所致，也可能是多只蜂王为区分各自的领地迫使工蜂扩建巢穴（同一蜂群可能会有多只蜂王）。

位于奥本的亚拉巴马州合作推广机构的昆虫学家查尔斯·雷博士发现，当地某谷仓里停放了一辆废弃的1955年款雪佛兰汽车，其内部被一个巨型蜂巢占满了。蜂巢一开始只有汽车轮胎大小，后迅速扩张，直至塞满整部汽车，甚至漫出汽车侵入谷仓，蔓延近300码远。

10. 鱼蛉堵塞明尼苏达州交通

1957年，美国明尼苏达州的黑斯廷斯经历了一次无比怪异的鱼蛉入侵。大量的虫子甚至形成虫堆，严重危及当地道路交通。

数百万鱼蛉在当地桥梁的中央堆积成高达2.5英尺的虫堆，路面滑得车辆无法通行。

警方和消防部门都接到了求救电话，但多亏当地青少年俱乐部——骑士汽车俱乐部——的努力，汽车才得以通过大桥。俱乐部成员花费了一个多小时才将那些被堵的汽车推过虫山。