text | Zuo'anpu
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1241, the heir of Genghis Khan , Ogedei , led the army of Mongolian tribe to capture Budapest , preparing to continue to penetrate into the hinterland of Europe. However, the rainy summer this year gave birth to a terrified enemy: mosquitoes. Mosquitoes bite the Mongolian horses, and the mosquito-borne malaria (Genghis Khan died of this disease) caused the Mongolian army to lose its combat effectiveness. So in 1242, the Mongols gave up Europe and never set foot on this land again.
American animal behaviorist Jonathan Balcomm cited this story in the book "Invincible Fly House: The Successful Cheats of Diptera Insects" to prove the importance of Diptera insects to human historical processes.
Just by biting humans and spreading diseases, humans’ “hatred” towards mosquitoes cannot be resolved. The Mongols must have thought about what kind of reversal of history would be if all the mosquitoes on the earth disappeared? Or we can expand this problem to the field of this book: What would happen if all the Dipteran insects, such as mosquitoes, flies, flies, and flies do not exist?
If the Diptera insects disappear completely, many people will applaud. Humans' "hatred" against Diptera insects is very reasonable: flies can pollute food, mosquitoes can suck human blood and spread diseases, flies can bite livestock and pets, , 杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨杨�
Summer is the most active time for mosquitoes. As long as you are outdoors, you will encounter various Dipteran insects, which buzz around you. In the worst case, as long as you expose a little skin, you will be attacked. Canadian writer Margaret Atwood was once attacked frantically in the forest. If the Diptera insects completely disappeared, she would definitely applaud her.
Different people hate mosquitoes differently, depending on how much they "attract" mosquitoes. Research shows that men, dark clothing, exercise, sweating and drinking are several characteristics that are more likely to attract mosquitoes.
What many people don’t know is that animals’ “hate” towards Diptera insects is even stronger. People who are bitten by mosquitoes often feel itchy and weak. If they deal with it properly, they can also "retaliate" in a timely manner. Other animals are much less able to do in this regard.
Almost every animal, including dinosaurs, has Dipteran insects that are specifically targeted: flea can lay eggs in the ant's body, eventually causing the entire head to fall off; hummingbird is the prey of robberflies. Imagine a bird being surrounded and blocked by a group of "flies" in the air; frogs feed specifically on frogs, disturbing them when they eat, rest and court, and sometimes spreading diseases.
Whether flying in the sky, walking on the ground or swimming in the water, they cannot escape the torture of Diptera insects.
In addition to endless annoyance and filth, the greatest sin of Diptera insects is that they can spread diseases. The reason why mosquitoes can block the iron hooves of Mongolian troops is because they carry malaria. Malaria still invades low-income countries to this day.
In addition, mosquitoes can also spread yellow fever, dengue fever and other diseases, which cause 2 million deaths worldwide every year, more than 2,000 times that of crocodiles.
Researchers estimate that half of all people born in human history die from mosquito-borne diseases. What is even more annoying is that mosquitoes have extremely strong survivability and are prone to resistance to insecticides, which makes them ineffective, but these insecticides are destroying the environment and causing deaths from other organisms.
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your arsenic, my honey. Dipteran insects that attract hatred will also be loved by some people. Take the war in 1241 for example. Mosquito defeated the Mongols but protected the Europeans. So Europeans may be grateful to mosquitoes.
If the Diptera insects completely disappear, the saddest thing should be themselves. This view is based on the fact that dipteran insects possess consciousness.
In this book, the author gives many examples to illustrate this problem. Insects can accomplish complex, instinctive tasks, possess cognitive abilities that are usually only intelligent creatures possess, be able to use tools, be able to calculate mathematics, be able to heal itself, be able to perceive pain, fear and pleasure—all ironclad evidence of perception.
The author did not draw a conclusion, but he believed that Dipteran insects might have some kind of consciousness different from humans. As long as we do not arrogantly focus on humanity, we must acknowledge this consciousness.
People who like diptera will also feel sad. From a purely aesthetic point of view, some Dipteran insects can be regarded as the most exquisite works of art in nature. For example, the appearance of hoverfly can be confused with bees, and mosquitoes have a slender and delicate body.
The cover of the book is a beautiful fly, its metallic luster and wing vein texture are comparable to the most beautiful birds. The author wrote: "The exquisite long-legged flies slid on the leaves in a shiny cloak, the passionate fruit flies stretched their tulle-like wings, the antlered solid flies wore spectacular caliper-like headdress, the male finger-horned flies confronted like aliens on stilts, and the bumblebee aphid flies covered with yellow fluff in the shape of bulls." These scenes make people doubt the preaching of "staying away from flies" that has been instilled since childhood.
Also sad are people who directly benefit from diptera insects. Many people’s work is directly related to them, and without these insects, many work cannot be carried out. fruit fly is the darling of genetics, and many human genetics and physiology knowledge benefit from the research on fruit fly.
Diptera insects can also be used to solve crimes. There is such a scene in the TV series " Song Dynasty Execution Officer ". Song Ci collects the sickles of everyone in the village, and one of them attracts many flies. Song Ci concludes that there is blood on the knife, and the owner of the knife is the murderer.
In modern society, forensic entomology has a wider use: the number, age and type of flies and maggots on corpses can be used to judge the time of death; blood extracted from maggots at crime scenes can be used to analyze the identity of the deceased and to detect whether they contain drugs. A legendary example is introduced in the book
. The entomologist uses evidence from the Diptera insects to make a false case 50 years ago clear. This is enough to prove that the practice of Diptera insects in solving crimes is quite mature.
People's love for dipteran insects may be for some incredible reasons. Diptera insects can spread diseases, but they can also cure diseases. It is said that humans have used maggots to promote wound healing thousands of years ago.
Napoleon doctors report that certain species of flies only destroy dead tissue and have a positive effect on wound healing. The effect of maggots on medical care has been confirmed by many modern scientists. Maggots can use mouth hooks to clean the wound, or use digestion enzyme to dissolve tissue, which is safer and more effective than surgery. The biggest obstacle to this treatment is human resentment to the maggots themselves.
You may not be able to imagine that some people like to eat diptera insects. Many people, including me, may have accidentally swallowed mosquitoes outdoors, but the "eating" here is by no means a joke: people in eastern Africa use shaking buckets to catch mosquitoes, pack them into balls, and cook them into edible chunks, called "mosquito cakes".
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However, the people mentioned above are a minority after all. Most people on Earth do not eat mosquitoes, do not think flies look good, and do not engage in genetic research. They have good reason to believe that they will not fall into murder or suffer the trauma that requires surgery. So are Diptera insects dispensable to them? Of course not.
Everyone on Earth has indirectly benefited from these little bugs in some way, although we may not realize it. We don't realize the value of these little bugs until the Dipteran insects completely disappear.
For example, some fruits you like to eat: apples, pears, strawberries, cherries, etc. Hoverphid flies are all involved in pollination.They are no less rewarding in this regard than bees, because Dipteran insects have strong viability and can pollinate special species in extreme environments. The famous tropical fruit jackfruit can only be pollinated by a type of gall mosquito .
is also like chocolate, and its raw material is the pods of cocoa trees, and cocoa trees can only be pollinated by one type of worm . In other words, if there are no Diptera insects, you are ready to say goodbye to jackfruit and chocolate forever.
Diptera insects are an important part of the food chain. Diptera insects are one of the most abundant species on the earth. They reproduce very quickly and provide a rich source of food for birds, fish and frogs. Without these Diptera insects, it will cause a chain food chain effect, which will ultimately affect human survival.
Now, people are beginning to actively use Diptera insects as feed sources. The rich protein provided by dipteran insects such as black soldier fly and houseflies are all used in aquaculture, poultry, fertilizers, and pet properties.
Even if you are indifferent to everything mentioned above, the following article is closely related to everyone on the earth.
Diptera insects are the most important waste recyclers on the planet. We often see flies surrounding animals’ carcasses and feces, which is a way for them to give back to nature. Without the cleaning of Diptera insects, the earth will be filled with garbage that cannot be cleaned up. Humans and other animals will soon lose their footing.
Diptera insects can bring diseases, filth and chaos, but if the Diptera insects disappear completely, it will cause more diseases, filth and chaos. This is because there are subtle "inner connections" in life on Earth, and missing any link can cause disaster. Even our most hated mosquitoes and flies, eliminating them is not the best choice. Scientists are already working to reduce their threat to humans and animals by reducing their harm. Diptera insects are a complex class of organisms, and the way to deal with them cannot be simple.
Diptera insects have multiple identities: pests, liars, lovers, carnivores, pollinators, blood suckers, botanists, waste disposalers, and perceptive beauty pageant champions. I believe they have some identities and functions that have not been discovered yet.
The essence of this book is not to tell readers how useful Dipteran insects are, but to hope more people will understand that this is the existence of a species with souls. They have their own values and concerns, their own pain and desires. Humans should not ignore these. Even without considering their value to humanity, they have reasons for existence. This is the mind that naturalism gives to mankind.
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