马尔库斯·布莱克

You dont fool with Mother Nature！ Some of the worst invasions in history have been natural—bugs in particular have brought havoc1 and destruction to people， places， animals and things for thousands of years.

The story of Pharaoh refusing to let the Hebrew people （or Israelites） leave Egypt in the book of Exodus comes to mind when you think of insect invasions. It was written that God created 10 plagues as demonstrations of power and displeasure designed to persuade Pharaoh to free the Israelites. Through Moses， God released a plague of locusts that covered the land and consumed all of the remaining Egyptian crops.

Here is a list of some incredible insect invasions that have confounded people and brought jaw-dropping destruction.

1. The insects that ate money

Weve heard of money-hungry people， but these insects were literally hungry for money！

In 2011， at a bank in the northern town of Lucknow， India， a bank manager opened a steel chest in an old reinforced2 room. To his shock， he discovered that an army of termites had eaten through 10 million rupees （$222，000） in currency notes stored in the chest at the bank.

The bank manager told the press， “Its a matter of investigation how termites attacked bundles of currency notes stacked in a steel chest.” The money was put in the chest in January of that year.

2. The caterpillars that slimed3 a car

In 2009， a car in Rotterdam， Holland was “attacked” by thousands of spindle ermine moth caterpillars when they left a giant silk web that literally covered the vehicle.

The caterpillars devoured a tree in a park in the Dutch city and migrated over to a nearby carpark where they spun their webs for protection from wasps and birds before they pupate4.

The caterpillars turned to moths about four weeks later and bye-bye caterpillar invasion.

3. The insect invasion so large it showed up on radar

If you live in the city of Albuquerque， New Mexico， you might have noticed the grasshopper population has grown. A lot. In 2014， the worst infestation5 of grasshoppers in twenty years hit this southwestern city.

The air is so dense with bugs that it appears on radar！

As Professor David Richman at New Mexico State University explained： “There wasnt enough winter to kill the egg pots. Because of the dry winter the eggs survived， hence the outbreak of grasshoppers.”

4. A “bugnado6” of aquatic insects invades Iowa cornfields

In 2011， a cloud of aquatic insects， known as midges， swept across the fields of Iowa. Footage of this ominous cloud of bugs， dubbed a “bugnado，” quickly blew up on social media. Although， the bugnado looked like an evil， crop-destroying invasion， the insects are pretty harmless overall.

These large swarms can be attributed to the males being in reproductive mode. As entomologist Joe Keiper of the Museum of Natural History of Virginia told Weekend Edition Saturday， “The males are essentially nothing more than flying sperm packets. They will fertilize a female and will die and fall to the ground shortly afterward.”

5. The beetles that bagged a biker

Beetlemania has hit the Gold Coast in Australia！ No， were not talking about the Fab Four7s Beatlemania， were talking about thousands of water beetles that invaded the east coast of the Australian city in 2011.

Ken Tompkins was riding his bike along the Esplanade at Surfers Paradise when he skid into a mound of dead beetles. He shattered his hip， collarbone and ribs and was bedridden8 for six weeks recovering from his injuries.

Scientists are quite baffled at this bevy9 of bugs.

6. A volcano caused an insect and snake invasion

In 1902， when Mt. Pelée， a volcano located on French Caribbean island Martinique， became active it spewed10 sulfurous gasses and ash and caused large tremors in the area. The tremor and ash combo caused by the newly active volcano drove thousands of insects and venomous snakes into the neighboring villages. The snake and insect invasion killed an estimated 50 humans and around 200 animals.

Mt. Pelée was one mean volcano！ When it erupted， it also obliterated11 the nearby city St. Pierre. Of approximately 28，000 people in St. Pierre， there were only two known survivors. The eruption is one of historys worst volcano disasters.

7. The ants that eat through electric wiring

Houston， we have a problem—an ant problem！ Billions of Rasberry Crazy ants are taking over Texas largest city. These red-brown ants are extremely tough critters12—they have been known to even go head to head with13 the dreaded fire ants！

Crazy ants spread at an alarmingly fast rate and seem to be much more interested in electrical equipment than food. They eat through any and every electrical device possible. And chew through insulation， causing short circuits and all sorts of havoc.

Tom Rasberry， the local exterminator credited with discovering these tiny insects， has seen cases in where hes been in houses and “where every time you took a step youd literally be stepping on thousands of ants with each step.” There are so many in some areas of infested houses that it looks like the ground is moving. Rasberry also says that the ants invade so quickly that “in no time， a one-acre field can be covered with 15 to 20 billion ants.”

8. The cicada invasion that happens every 17 years

If you live on the east coast of the United States， youve probably experienced invasions of cicadas. You would know if you experienced the invasion of these bugs because the racket the male cicadas make can be extremely deafening. The buzzing has been measured at being up to 94 earsplitting decibels.

These winged creatures have been biding their time14 to come to the surface. When in wingless nymph15 form， cicadas spend 13 to 17 years a few feet underground， sucking on tree roots. They emerge only when the ground temperature reaches 64 degrees Fahrenheit. After a few weeks up in the trees， they will die and their offspring will go underground for another 13 to 17 years.

What do they do when they come up？ They have sex. Hence， the loud sound that the males make is a mating call.

Since fifteen broods of the cicada emerge every 13 to 17 years so， somewhere on the east coast every year there is an invasion. Were talking a HUGE invasion too！ Researchers estimate there are 30 billion to 1 trillion cicadas lurking underground waiting to come up at just the right moment.

9. The yellow jackets that filled a car

In 2006， insect experts noticed that giant yellow jacket nests have been turning up in old barns， houses and other cavernous places all over southern Alabama.

Specialists said it could have been the result of a mild winter and drought conditions， or multiple queens forcing worker yellow jackets to enlarge their quarters so the queens could be in separate areas （a colony could have multiple queens）.

Entomologist Dr. Charles Ray at the Alabama Cooperative Extension System in Auburn discovered a huge nest that filled the interior of a weathered 1955 Chevy parked in a local barn. A nest that started out the size of an automobile tire quickly spread to fill the entire vehicle， even spreading into the barn， about 300 yards away.

10. Fishflies block traffic in Minnesota

In 1957， Hastings， Minnesota experienced an incredibly bizarre invasion of fishflies. There were so many of these bugs that they actually caused a drift， wrecking havoc on the local roadways.

Millions of fishflies piled up so high that they created a 2? foot bug-drift in the middle of the local bridge， making the roads slick and preventing cars from getting through.

The police and the fire department were called， but thanks to the effort of the local teen club， the Cavalier Auto Club， motorists were able to get through. The teens spent over an hour pushing automobiles through the mountain of bugs.

1 havoc破坏，混乱。

2 reinforced加固的，强化的。  3 slime涂上黏液。  4 pupate（昆虫）变成蛹。

5 infestation（昆虫、老鼠等）大量滋生，大批出没。  6作者用bug（虫子）和tornado（龙卷风）组合而成的自造词。

7英国摇滚乐队The Beatles（披头士乐队）的昵称。  8 bedridden（因生病或年老）卧床不起的。  9 bevy一群。  10 spew喷出，吐出。  11 obliterate毁灭，抹去。

12 critter生物或动物的非正式说法。  13 go head to head with与……实力不相上下。

14 bide ones time（耐心）等待時机。  15 nymph蛹。

别不拿大自然当回事！历史上一些最严重的侵害都来源于自然——尤其是虫子，它们对人、地、动物和物品的破坏和毁灭已延续了几千年。

想到昆虫灾害，《圣经·出埃及记》中法老拒绝让希伯来人（或古以色列人）离开埃及的故事便会浮上脑海。据记载，神为显示自己的力量和不满，降下了十灾，以迫使法老释放希伯来人。神借摩西之手降下灾难，放出漫山遍野的蝗虫，将埃及剩余的庄稼啃食殆尽。

下列奇异虫灾不仅令人费解，还造成了惊人的破坏。

1. 昆虫吃钱

只听说过嗜财之人，竟也有真爱吃钱的昆虫！

2011年，印度北部城市勒克瑙一家银行的经理打开置于老旧加固房间中的一个钢柜，惊讶地发现一群白蚁蛀穿了存放其中的1000万卢比（约22.2万美元）纸币。

该银行经理告诉媒体：“白蚁如何损坏了存放在钢柜中的纸币，这还有待调查。”钱是同年1月放入库中的。

2. 毛毛虫黏车

2009年，荷兰鹿特丹的一辆汽车遭到数千只卫矛巢蛾幼虫的“进攻”，虫子留下的巨型丝网几乎笼罩全车。

那些幼虫在吞噬了鹿特丹某公园中的一棵树后，迁徙至附近的停车场，结下抵御黄蜂和鸟类的保护网，之后变成了虫蛹。