南の猫の新西蘭雑記

日本も結構好きなのですが、根っこがこっちに深いです。

 一寸の虫にも五分の魂

  1. 六本足戦争

"20th Century Discovery : The Structure of Life"

  • War against Six Legs: The Discovery of Insecticides and Pesticides

Perhaps 3,000 species at most (out of a possible 3 millions) are nuisance. As a result people came to dislike 'bugs' and get the urge to swat or crush anything with six legs that flies or crawls. This is wrong though. We don't want really to wipe out all insects because a few are bothersome.

The way in which different species of animals depend upon one another results in a 'balance of nature.' The study of this balance of nature is called 'ecology' and it has grown to be one of the branches of science that is of great interest to mankind, for we have badly upset the balance of nature and are upsetting it worse each year.

虫もバクテリアも全滅作戦は控えましょう、と、いったところでしょうか。