工业设计专业英语第三版昆虫与设计.pptxVIP

;Insects won’t take over the earth, they own it now. A leading biologist explains why bugs are the world’s most successful design. They incorporate astonishingly sophisticated design feature, both structurally and functionally, that render them especially well suited for survival on this planet.;There ’s no denying it: Bugs rule .There are currently 200 million insects for every man, woman and child .Of the 1.5 million species identified ,more than half are insects. We humans may not like the idea ,but there is no denying it: Bugs rule. Estimates have it that there are some 1018 bugs now alive on the planet. It is not only their sheer number, but also their diversity that is staggering : Of the total 1.5 million species of animals, plants and microorganisms that have been identidied, more than half—or over 800,000—are insects. And while new species of insects are being discovered daily, over 10 million may yet remain unknown.;What makes insects the most successful inhabitants of the earth ? One answer is that they are small, which has made it possible for them to colonize literally every nook and cranny. But there is another reason: Insects are built to last. They incorporate astonishingly sophisticated design features, both structurally and functionally , that render them especially well suited for survival on this planet. It is these features that have allowed them to gain the evolutionary advantage they have achieved.;The suit of armor that insects are encased in provides them with protection from predators and keeps them from drying out, the latter being of considerable concern, given their tiny size. Without their outer casing, they would never have mastered life in the open. The insect skeleton is appropriately hinged in places to provide for mobility .Like our own ,their legs have flexible joints, but so do their principal body parts—their head,thorax and abdomen.Even the wings of the insect, which can beat at frequencies of hundreds of times per second ,are