《中英對照讀新聞》Belgians battle caterpillar plague with love traps 比利時人用愛情陷阱對抗毛毛蟲為患

◎羅彥傑

Male moths in Belgium are being lured into love traps coated with female hormones in a bid to stem a plague of hairy caterpillars that are infesting woodlands and causing itching frenzies in humans.

在比利時，公毛毛蟲正被引誘至塗上一層雌蟲性荷爾蒙的愛情陷阱裡，以遏止毛茸茸的毛毛蟲為患，蹂躪森林地並造成人體奇癢難耐。

The countryside surrounding the city of Bree is filled with oak trees and plagued by procession caterpillars.Previous efforts to rid the woods of these bugs, including pesticides and burning, have been unsuccessful.

布列市周圍的鄉間到處是橡樹，而且「隊伍毛毛蟲」肆虐為患。先前替樹木除蟲的努力，包括施打殺蟲劑與火燒，都未能奏效。

"We are now making an experiment," said Patrick Hermans, head of the city's environmental department. "We are using a female sex hormone that makes the males come to the traps. They fall in and die."

「我們現在正在試驗，」該市環境局局長派崔克．赫曼斯說。「我們正利用一種雌蟲性荷爾蒙來吸引公毛毛蟲接近陷阱。牠們會墜入並且死亡。」

Procession caterpillars, which get their name because of the way they march together through the forests, are covered in stingy hairs containing a toxin that causes itching and can lead to dermatitis.

隊伍毛毛蟲，係因牠們一起成群結隊的穿越森林而得名，這些蟲的身上都覆蓋有刺的毛，毛內含有一種會使人發癢且會導致皮膚炎的毒素。

新聞辭典

to lure︰動詞，引誘、誘惑。例句︰The hunter lured the fox into a trap.（獵人誘使狐狸落入陷阱。）

coat︰原為名詞，指外套或上衣，在此當動詞用，指塗上、覆蓋。The new peace overture from China is a poison coated with sugar.（中國提出的新和平提議，是包覆著糖衣的毒藥。）

frenzy︰名詞，指瘋狂、極度的激動。例句：The politican whipped up nationalist frenzy among the excitable crowds.（這名政客在容易激動的群眾中煽起民族主義狂熱。）