Inventors and inventions教学课件2.pptVIP

成才之路 · 英语 路漫漫其修远兮 吾将上下而求索 人教版 · 选修8 Inventors and inventions Unit 3 话 题 引 入 University of Sussex scientists working with researchers in Brazil have found the first example of a “soldier” bee． They studied a common tropical bee，Tetragonisca angustula，in Sao Paulo State in Brazil where its known locally as Jataí．It nests in trees and wall holes．Each nest has one queen and up to 10,000 workers．Insect societies such as the Jataís are cooperative and selfless，the workers caring for the nest and the queens children．This lifestyle also includes the division of labour among workers． The research states that： ●Jataí guard bees are 30 percent heavier than their forager nest-mates． ●They are slightly different from foragers in shape，with larger legs and smaller heads． ●Approximately one percent of worker bees raised in a colony are soldier-sized． ●Jataí soldiers stand on the nest entrance tube and also fly around near the entrance where they provide “early warning” detection of enemy attack． Like other social insects，Jataí use guard workers to protect the nest．A previous study by the team had shown that these guards were specialists that performed guarding duties for far longer (up to three weeks) than other types of worker bees，such as the honeybees，who spend just one day guarding the nest，progressing to other tasks as they get older．The new research shows that Jataí guards，unlike their honeybee counterparts，are physically specialized to perform a particular task． Having larger-bodied guards is important for nest-defense，as theyre better at fighting one of Jataís main enemies—the robber bee Lestrimelitta limao，which can kill off many colonies when attacking nests for food． Even though the Jataí guard lacks a sting and is eventually killed，it can knock its head onto the wing of a robber bee，preventing it from flying．Large-bodied soldier workers have long been known in ants and white ants，but this is the first evidence of a“soldier”bee． 文章大意：本文主要介绍了研究人员首次发现蜂群中也有“兵蜂”。 1．Wh