60秒科学:Odd Spider Prefers Salad

Odd Spider Prefers Salad
In a study in the journal Current Biology, researchers report the discovery of an unusual spider, Bagheera kiplingi, that eschews¹ meat and chews acacia tips. Karen Hopkin reports
It’s said that real men don’t each quiche. And real spiders don’t eat salad. Or so everyone thought, until scientists discovered a jumping spider that seems to be a vegetarian². The report appears in the journal Current Biology.

Spiders are notorious hunters, luring³ prey⁴ into their sticky webs or ambushing⁵ them from behind a leaf. But field researchers have found that a jumping spider called Bagheera kiplingi actually prefers the leaf—or in this case, the leaf-tips produced by the acacia shrub⁶. These tasty tips are usually eaten by ants that live on the plant and protect it from hungry herbivores. Or at least try to.

The veggie-loving spiders, it seems, outwit the ants by making themselves scarce or by spinning silky droplines to give the ants the slip. They may also pull the old wolf-in-sheep’s clothing trick by cloaking themselves in the ants’ chemical scent⁷, a possibility the scientists are trying to sniff⁸ out.

For some of these spiders, acacia tips make up more than 90 percent of their diet. So, little Miss Muffet has nothing to fear from B. Kiplingi. Unless she’s sitting on an acacia bush. In which case here’s a tip: get a new tuffet, Muffet.

—Karen Hopkin
 

1 eschews   

v.（尤指为道德或实际理由而）习惯性避开，回避( eschew的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A wise person eschews bad company. 聪明人远避恶友。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Ideology transcends limits, eschews restraints, and disdains tolerance or conciliation. 意识形态越出界限，避开遏制，蔑视宽容或和解。 来自辞典例句

2 vegetarian   

n.素食者；adj.素食的

参考例句：

• She got used gradually to the vegetarian diet.她逐渐习惯吃素食。
• I didn't realize you were a vegetarian.我不知道你是个素食者。

3 luring   

吸引，引诱（lure的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Cheese is very good for luring a mouse into a trap. 奶酪是引诱老鼠上钩的极好的东西。
• Her training warned her of peril and of the wrong, subtle, mysterious, luring. 她的教养警告她：有危险，要出错儿，这是微妙、神秘而又诱人的。

4 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

5 ambushing   

v.埋伏( ambush的现在分词 )；埋伏着

参考例句：

• The militia succeeded in ambushing the invading enemy soldiers. 民兵们成功地伏击了入侵的敌军。 来自互联网

6 shrub   

n.灌木，灌木丛

参考例句：

• There is a small evergreen shrub on the hillside.山腰上有一小块常绿灌木丛。
• Moving a shrub is best done in early spring.移植灌木最好是在初春的时候。

7 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

8 sniff   

vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视

参考例句：

• The police used dogs to sniff out the criminals in their hiding - place.警察使用警犬查出了罪犯的藏身地点。
• When Munchie meets a dog on the beach, they sniff each other for a while.当麦奇在海滩上碰到另一条狗的时候，他们会彼此嗅一会儿。