60秒科学:Pick the World's Ugliest Insect

（单词翻译）

Pick the World's Ugliest Insect

Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University want your vote at askabiologist.asu.edu/uglybugs to help them crown the ugliest insect in the world. Adam Hinterthuer reports

Will you pick “Sweetness” or “The Gollywhopper?” “The Hammer” or “Stretch?” Those are all nicknames for some ugly insects. And by choosing, you’ll help Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University crown the ugliest insect in the world. Now in its second year online, the contest pits ten unattractive insects against one another.

Amazing up-close mugshots come with informational tidbits like “sucks plant juices” and “stings can be fatal.” The Ugly Bug¹ contest is hosted by A.S.U.’s “Ask A Biologist” program, which attempts to get the university’s science out into the world. But not so far that you’d need an exterminator³.

The roundup of rogues⁴ includes an ant that snags prey⁵ by leaping into the air and leaf-footed bugs² that secrete⁶ nasty juices to ward⁷ off predators⁸. In 2008, the lowly tick won by a landslide⁹. This year it appears that “Stretch” the snakefly is running away with the competition. But polls are open until December 15th and nothing is final until all the votes are in. Memo to the snakefly—don’t count your larvae til they’ve metamorphosized