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Invasion Of The Giant African Land Snails
Like many midwesterners, it turns out that giant African land snails really love Florida.
Not A Good Thing
Unfortunately, giant African Land Snails are some of the world’s most destructive snails. They can grow to be eight inches long — as big as rats — and to weigh more than one pound. They’re so huge, in fact, that their shells have been known to blow out tires.
The real trouble is that these snails reproduce very quickly. Under optimal conditions — such as warm, tropical Florida — one snail can lay up to a thousand or so eggs a year. And these snails’ typical life span is three to five years, with some living as long as nine years.
Why Is This A Problem?
Unlike most snails, giant African land snails don’t just eat decaying organic matter or leaf molds; they eat the plants themselves, so they pose a huge threat to agriculture, one of Florida’s main industries. What’s more, they’re not picky.They eat over five hundred species of plants, and some have even been known to chew through stucco and plastic containers.
And for your health. Some of these snails can carry diseases such as a parasitic rat lungworm that can cause meningitis in humans. So if you see a giant African land snail in your yard, don’t touch it or kill it yourself. Instead, call your local authorities or department of agriculture so that they can dispose of the snail and its nesting materials safely.
入侵非洲大陸的蝸牛
體型巨大的非洲陸生蝸牛同許多生活在中西部地區(qū)的動(dòng)物一樣大愛美國弗羅里達(dá)州。
非吉是兇
但不幸的是，他們的破壞性在世界上數(shù)一數(shù)二。他們有8英寸長(zhǎng)，和老鼠一般大小，重達(dá)一磅還多。
他們是那樣的大，事實(shí)上，他們的殼能扎破輪胎，這一點(diǎn)遠(yuǎn)近聞名。真正的麻煩在于這種蝸牛繁衍速度極快。在理想的條件下，比如在溫暖的熱帶地區(qū)弗羅里達(dá)，一只蝸牛一年可以產(chǎn)卵一千個(gè)左右。而一般這種蝸牛的壽命是3到5年，一些甚至可以存活9年之久。
為什么這是個(gè)問題?
同大多數(shù)蝸牛不同，這種蝸牛不吃腐敗的有機(jī)質(zhì)食物，也不吃葉霉。他們吃植物本身，如此一來，對(duì)主要產(chǎn)業(yè)為農(nóng)業(yè)的弗羅里達(dá)州來說，他們會(huì)構(gòu)成巨大的威脅。此外，他們可一點(diǎn)也不挑食。他們的食物涵蓋500多種植物，據(jù)說有些蝸牛甚至還啃食石灰泥和塑料袋。
蝸牛對(duì)人類的健康也有害。一些蝸牛會(huì)攜帶具有寄生性的大鼠肺絲蟲和其他疾病，導(dǎo)致人類患上腦膜炎。因此，你要是在自家的庭院看到一個(gè)巨大的非洲蝸牛，珍愛生命，千萬別碰。你要做的是打電話請(qǐng)地方*或農(nóng)業(yè)部門來安全地處理它們及它們筑巢的材料。
【本譯文由普特網(wǎng)友 veroniquelj 提供】
PS：非洲大蝸牛是中大型的陸棲蝸牛。成體殼長(zhǎng)一般為7～8厘米，則可長(zhǎng)到超過20厘米。夜行性，雜食性，大多是在潮濕環(huán)境中活動(dòng)，喜歡在下雨及夜間出沒。平時(shí)躲在陰涼的地方，且在殼口上做一層白膜（假口蓋），只余一個(gè)小孔來呼吸，將螺肉縮入殼內(nèi)以防脫水，等到環(huán)境轉(zhuǎn)好后再出來。食物包括農(nóng)作物、林木、果樹、蔬菜、花卉等植物，饑餓時(shí)也取食紙張和同伴尸體，甚至能啃食和消化水泥，可危害500多種作物。該物種是許多人畜寄生蟲和病原菌的中間宿主，尤其是傳播結(jié)核病和嗜酸性腦膜炎，食用則危害極大。非洲大蝸牛一次可以產(chǎn)下30到700粒卵，繁殖很快。已被列入中國首批16種外來入侵物種之一，對(duì)蔬菜等農(nóng)作物危害極大，系國家進(jìn)出境二類檢疫性有害生物。
Invasion Of The Giant African Land Snails
Like many midwesterners, it turns out that giant African land snails really love Florida.
Not A Good Thing
Unfortunately, giant African Land Snails are some of the world’s most destructive snails. They can grow to be eight inches long — as big as rats — and to weigh more than one pound. They’re so huge, in fact, that their shells have been known to blow out tires.
The real trouble is that these snails reproduce very quickly. Under optimal conditions — such as warm, tropical Florida — one snail can lay up to a thousand or so eggs a year. And these snails’ typical life span is three to five years, with some living as long as nine years.
Why Is This A Problem?
Unlike most snails, giant African land snails don’t just eat decaying organic matter or leaf molds; they eat the plants themselves, so they pose a huge threat to agriculture, one of Florida’s main industries. What’s more, they’re not picky.They eat over five hundred species of plants, and some have even been known to chew through stucco and plastic containers.
And for your health. Some of these snails can carry diseases such as a parasitic rat lungworm that can cause meningitis in humans. So if you see a giant African land snail in your yard, don’t touch it or kill it yourself. Instead, call your local authorities or department of agriculture so that they can dispose of the snail and its nesting materials safely.
入侵非洲大陸的蝸牛
體型巨大的非洲陸生蝸牛同許多生活在中西部地區(qū)的動(dòng)物一樣大愛美國弗羅里達(dá)州。
非吉是兇
但不幸的是，他們的破壞性在世界上數(shù)一數(shù)二。他們有8英寸長(zhǎng)，和老鼠一般大小，重達(dá)一磅還多。
他們是那樣的大，事實(shí)上，他們的殼能扎破輪胎，這一點(diǎn)遠(yuǎn)近聞名。真正的麻煩在于這種蝸牛繁衍速度極快。在理想的條件下，比如在溫暖的熱帶地區(qū)弗羅里達(dá)，一只蝸牛一年可以產(chǎn)卵一千個(gè)左右。而一般這種蝸牛的壽命是3到5年，一些甚至可以存活9年之久。
為什么這是個(gè)問題?
同大多數(shù)蝸牛不同，這種蝸牛不吃腐敗的有機(jī)質(zhì)食物，也不吃葉霉。他們吃植物本身，如此一來，對(duì)主要產(chǎn)業(yè)為農(nóng)業(yè)的弗羅里達(dá)州來說，他們會(huì)構(gòu)成巨大的威脅。此外，他們可一點(diǎn)也不挑食。他們的食物涵蓋500多種植物，據(jù)說有些蝸牛甚至還啃食石灰泥和塑料袋。
蝸牛對(duì)人類的健康也有害。一些蝸牛會(huì)攜帶具有寄生性的大鼠肺絲蟲和其他疾病，導(dǎo)致人類患上腦膜炎。因此，你要是在自家的庭院看到一個(gè)巨大的非洲蝸牛，珍愛生命，千萬別碰。你要做的是打電話請(qǐng)地方*或農(nóng)業(yè)部門來安全地處理它們及它們筑巢的材料。
【本譯文由普特網(wǎng)友 veroniquelj 提供】
PS：非洲大蝸牛是中大型的陸棲蝸牛。成體殼長(zhǎng)一般為7～8厘米，則可長(zhǎng)到超過20厘米。夜行性，雜食性，大多是在潮濕環(huán)境中活動(dòng)，喜歡在下雨及夜間出沒。平時(shí)躲在陰涼的地方，且在殼口上做一層白膜（假口蓋），只余一個(gè)小孔來呼吸，將螺肉縮入殼內(nèi)以防脫水，等到環(huán)境轉(zhuǎn)好后再出來。食物包括農(nóng)作物、林木、果樹、蔬菜、花卉等植物，饑餓時(shí)也取食紙張和同伴尸體，甚至能啃食和消化水泥，可危害500多種作物。該物種是許多人畜寄生蟲和病原菌的中間宿主，尤其是傳播結(jié)核病和嗜酸性腦膜炎，食用則危害極大。非洲大蝸牛一次可以產(chǎn)下30到700粒卵，繁殖很快。已被列入中國首批16種外來入侵物種之一，對(duì)蔬菜等農(nóng)作物危害極大，系國家進(jìn)出境二類檢疫性有害生物。