Knowledge of nature is everywhere! Watch with your heart, scientific knowledge is near you

At end of spring it rains a lot, and warmer weather sometimes suddenly turns cold. On April 28, 2019 in Beijing, I experienced it again and also got an unexpected benefit from observing nature: Early in morning I went to Beijing TV to participate in event, and when I wandered around courtyard, I found a snail lying on corner of wall , and dozens of small black beetles gathered next to her.

These little things seem familiar to me, but I haven't seen them again for at least 40 years. Curiosity prompted me to pick up a branch and shake it several times, but they remained motionless, as if welded to wall. So weird and so interesting! I took out my mobile phone, saved this photo and sent it to my friend Sun Kai (alias Labujiya), who studied entomology abroad, and asked him: “Where is this saint?”

The answer came quickly: she is a young spotted wax cicada nymph commonly known as "Chunbeng'er". He does not grow wings until he is an adult, and older nymphs blush. Beneath dirty scar on side of photo is a cluster of eggs that were covered in mud when adults laid their eggs last year. These young nymphs seem to have just hatched and now temperature is low and they don't like to move.

What a wonderful insight! Incidentally, I invited this Mr. Labugia, who is said to be very famous in circle of worms, to write an article on Chungbanger for Popular Science Times, but he finished manuscript quickly. Looking at exquisite images of insects sent by him, my thoughts were instantly transported to childhood, to that era when I was fortunate enough to closely communicate with natural flowers, plants and various small animals...

A few days later, I went to Hangzhou to participate in 2019 Zhejiang Province Forestry Promotion Base Camp Activities. In Baicao Garden of Zhejiang University of Agriculture and Forestry, I saw various exotic flowers and plants. Sitting at school's international base for promotion of Chinese language and tea culture, I spoke with Professor Wu Hong, chairman of Zhejiang Provincial Forestry Society, and Professor Jin Aiwu, vice chairman of Lishui City People's Political Consultative Conference and president of Municipal Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, and got a lot of knowledge.

Jin Aiwu, who once taught at Zhejiang University of Agriculture and Forestry, is a bamboo expert. He taught farmers how to grow bamboo forests for many years and helped farmers get rich. He is affectionately known as "Professor Jin Yuanbao". peasant brothers. Suddenly, Professor Jin asked me a question: we often say that bamboo shoots grow after rain, is it because it rains in spring, so many bamboo shoots grow?

I was stunned.

"Bamboo shoots after rain" taken fromSong Zhang Lei's poem "Eat Bamboo Shoots": "Spring rains in barren forest, and new bamboo shoots break into dragon and cubs." It refers to rapid growth of bamboo shoots after spring rain, which is a metaphor for emergence of a large number of new things and rapid development. Professor Jin's question is more specific: "After rain" means that it rains a lot, so bamboo shoots grow, or do they grow after rain stops?

To be honest, I have never thought about problem from such an angle and I can’t figure it out for a while.

"Professor Jin Yuanbao" taught me many sciences: fact is that under conditions of suitable nutrient supply in bamboo forests, growth of bamboo shoots in spring is mainly controlled by temperature. For example, mozo bamboo shoots in spring begin to germinate after temperature rises to initial temperature (soil temperature 13-15°C) and grow rapidly with an increase in effective storage temperature. In spring, especially early spring, temperature is usually low due to incessant rains, growth of bamboo shoots is very slow, and number of dug up bamboo shoots is small. Once weather clears up after rain and temperature rises quickly, bamboo shoots will grow rapidly and number of dug up will increase rapidly. It can be said that in spring temperature rises quickly and bamboo shoots appear quickly, while temperature rises slowly and bamboo shoots appear slowly. Therefore, "spring bamboo shoots after rain" means that temperature rises after rain stops, which leads to sprout of a large number of bamboo shoots in bamboo forest.

So it is!

Professor Jin also said: From point of view of production, using temperature (ground temperature) controlled mechanism that bamboo shoots are dug up, forest land is covered with organic matter in winter.

In 10 days, nature taught me two lessons, and they taught me!