Nature | Italian Language Blog

Posts under "Nature"

La Vespa Killer

Sep 23 2011

No, it’s not an assassin who rides a scooter but a Chinese wasp that is causing widespread destruction to the Italian chestnut woods. Here is an excerpt from a recent newspaper article:

Una vespa killer cinese distrugge i castagneti. Ora sta arrivando il suo parassita antagonista. Si chiama ‘Dryocosmus Kuriphilus’, ma nei boschi della Lunigiana è conosciuto come la vespa killer colpevole della moria dei castagni.

A Chinese killer wasp is destroying the chestnut woods. Now its parasitic opponent is coming. It’s called ‘Dryocosmus Kuriphilus’, but in the woodlands of Lunigiana it’s known as the killer wasp, responsible for the blight of the chestnuts.

L’insetto sta infestando i castagneti e si sta diffondendo a macchia d’olio: i danni sono già elevatissimi, gli agricoltori lanciano l’allarme e chiedono aiuto alle istituzioni. Proveniente dalla Cina, è stato segnalato per la prima volta in Italia nel 2002 in provincia di Cuneo (Piemonte) e poi si è diffuso in altre regioni e dal 2008 anche nei boschi toscani.

The insect is infesting chestnut woods and is spreading like wildfire: the damage is already very serious, agriculturalists have raised the alarm and are asking for help from the authorities. Originating in China, it was first reported in Italy in 2002 in the province of Cuneo (Piedmont) from which it spread to other regions including, from 2008, the woodlands of Toscana.

La vespa cinese determina un rilevante calo della fruttificazione del castagno e forti riduzioni dell’accrescimento della massa legnosa. Quando l’insetto depone le uova induce la formazione di rigonfiamenti (galle) che inglobano foglie e infiorescenze riducendo la fruttificazione. Si calcola una perdita del 70 per cento dei frutti.

The Chinese wasp causes a significant decline in the chestnuts ability to produce fruit and a severe reduction in the formation of the timber. When the insect lays its eggs it induces the formation of swellings, known as galls, which cover leaves and buds thereby reducing the production of fruit by an estimated 70%.

Come combattere il killer? C’è già pronto l’antagonista. Il suo nome è ‘Torymus sinensis’, parassita delle larve della vespa cinese che viene liberato sulle galle dei castagni malati.

How can the killer be fought? There is an opponent ready, its name is ‘Torymus sinensis’, and it’s a parasite which is set free on the galls of the infected chestnut trees to feed on the larvae of the Chinese wasp.

“L’arrivo dell’infestazione in tutta la Lunigiana – commenta il presidente della Comunità Montana Paolo Bissoli – è un evento grave ma non inatteso: il cinipede è arrivato dall’Estremo Oriente ed è un elemento estraneo al nostro ecosistema. L’unica cura è l’immissione sul territorio del suo antagonista naturale. Stiamo lavorando proprio in questa direzione in un piano di coordinamento fra Regione, Province e Comunità Montane, associazioni di coltivatori e castanicoltori”.

“The arrival of this infestation in the whole of Lunigiana – says the president of the Comunità Montana, Paolo Bissoli, – is a serious, but not unexpected event: the gall wasp arrived from the Far East and is an element foreign to our ecosystem. The only remedy is to release its natural opponent into the area. We are working precisely in this direction with a coordinated plan which encompasses region, provinces, Comunità Montane (organisations responsible for the care of mountain areas), agricultural associations, and chestnut growers”.

You can read more about the infestation of the Chinese killer wasp and its impact on the Italian landscape in this article: http://www.giornaledibarganews.com

Il Meteo – Part 1

Posted by Serena 1 Comment

Jul 27 2011

Le previsioni del tempo – literally the weather forecasts (N.B. we use the plural in Italian) is more commonly known as il meteo (think of the word meteorological).

Like any specialized field, il meteo has its own particular vocabulary, which can be pretty daunting when all you want to know is whether it will be sunny or rainy tomorrow. Here is a useful meteo website that gives clear descriptions of the weather situation here in Italy, and if the words get too much there are also nice illustrative weather maps with appropriate pictures of suns and clouds: http://meteolive.leonardo.it/previsioni-meteo/

Here is an excerpt from il meteo for last weekend, with my translation:

Fine settimana incerto per molte regioni: ecco le ultime notizie

Uncertain weekend for many areas: here’s the latest news

Instabilità in accentuazione su molte regioni stante la presenza di una saccatura sull’Italia.

Increasing instability in many areas due to the presence of a trough of low pressure over Italy.

Fine settimana non ottimale per chi ama il sole, il bel tempo, il caldo ed i mari lisci come l’olio.

Not a very good weekend for those who love sun, good weather, warmth, and sea as smooth as oil.

Sia sabato che domenica l’Italia verrà interessata da una saccatura atlantica che, pur non portando un sistema frontale organizzato, creerà le condizioni per la formazione di qualche temporale, che si muoverà da nord-ovest verso sud-est.

Both on Saturday and Sunday Italy will be affected by an Atlantic trough (low pressure) which, whilst not bringing in a clear frontal system, will create the conditions for the formation of thunderstorms which will move from the north-west to the south-east.

Entriamo meglio nel dettaglio con il tempo di sabato. Ecco la cartina incentrata per il primo pomeriggio della giornata in questione.

Let’s go into more detail with Saturday’s weather. Here’s the map for early Saturday afternoon.

Come si può notare, gran parte del nord Italia avrà un tempo inaffidabile. Qualche temporale si prevede prima al nord-est, mentre in serata gli sconfinamenti temporaleschi dalle Alpi potrebbero dare luogo ad un peggioramento anche al nord-ovest.

As you can see, a large part of northern Italy will have unpredictable (literally ‘untrustworthy’) weather. Several thunderstorms are predicted, beginning in the north east, whilst in the evening thunderstorms spreading (literally ‘trespassing’) from the Alps could also give place to a deterioration in the north-west.

Qualche precipitazione di passaggio (da ovest verso est) si prevede anche al centro-sud, specie nelle zone interne. Ancora vento forte sulla Sardegna e mari circostanti non in buone condizioni.

Some passing showers (from west to east) are also predicted in the center south, especially in inland areas. Once again there will be strong winds in Sardegna, with the surrounding seas not in good condition (i.e. no swimming!)

Il tempo migliore, oltre che sulla Sardegna (a parte il vento) lo avremo sulla Sicilia e sulle regioni estreme meridionali.

We’ll have the best weather, other than in Sardegna (apart from the wind) in Sicily and the extreme southern areas.

Unfortunately, this time il meteo was accurate!

In part 2 I’ll give you a list of weather vocabulary and take a look at colloquial ways of talking about the weather.

La Cicala: favole e leggende

Posted by Serena 4 Comments

Jul 2 2011

There are many popular sayings and proverbs about la cicala, and not surprisingly his frinio (strident song) plays an important part in most of them.

Probably the most famous cicada favola (fable) is that written by Esopo (Aesop): La Cicala e la Formica. Here is an adaptation of the tale by the French poet and writer Jean de La Fontaine (1621 – 1695):

La Cicala e la Formica (The Cicada and the Ant) N.B. In English this fable is often incorrectly known as ‘The Ant and the Grasshopper’.

Durante l’estate la formica lavorava duramente, mettendosi da parte le provviste per l’inverno. Invece la cicala non faceva altro che cantare tutto il giorno. Poi arrivò l’inverno e la formica ebbe di che nutrirsi, dato che durante l’estate aveva accumulato molto cibo. La cicala cominciò a sentire i morsi della fame, perciò andò dalla formica a chiederle se poteva darle qualcosa da mangiare. La formica le disse: “Io ho lavorato duramente per ottenere questo e tu che cosa hai fatto durante l’estate?” “Ho cantato” rispose la cicala. La formica esclamò: “Allora adesso balla!”

Morale: chi nulla mai fa, nulla mai ottiene.

During the summer the ant worked hard, putting aside provisions for the winter. The cicada, on the other hand, did nothing but sing all day long. Then the winter arrived, and the ant, who had accumulated lots of food during the summer, had plenty to eat. The cicada began to feel pangs of hunger, so she went to the ant to ask it if she could give her something to eat. The ant said to her: “I’ve worked hard to obtain this, and you, what did you do during the summer?” “I sang” exclaimed the cicada. “Well then, now you can dance!”

Moral: he who does nothing, obtains nothing.

It is said that at one time in the countryside, the cicaleccio (chattering) of the cicala which accompanied the reapers as they worked in the fields caused them to reflect upon the injustice of the fact that they would soon have to give a large portion of the fruits of their hard labor to il padrone (the landowner). In Romagna, the peasants would often chant “Dice la cicala al cicalino: il grano al padrone e la paglia al contadino” (“Said the cicada to the little grasshopper: the grain to the landowner and the straw to the peasant”) whilst they were stacking the sheaves of corn.

The cicada, as you will see from the photo in my previous blog, has rather bulbous eyes. The following legend explains why:

“Una volta, tanti anni fa, un cuculo lavorava nella costruzione di una casa, trascinandosi su e giù per le scale portando sulle spalle la calce, ed aiutandosi, per la gran fatica, ripetendo so pu’, so pu’, so pu’ (su pure, su pure, su pure). Un’insolente cicala, posata poco lontano, lo canzonava dicendogli: dai, dai, dai. Il cuculo, persa la pazienza, la rincorse, raggiungendola proprio in una bottega di un fabbro, dove, preso un martello, la schiacciò su un’incudine, facendole schizzare gli occhi fuori dalla testa”.

Once, many years ago, a cuckoo was working on the construction of a house. Dragging himself up and down the steps carrying lime on his shoulders, he helped himself in his great fatigue by repeating ‘come on, up, come on, up, come on,up’. An insolent cicada, resting not far away teased him saying: ‘go on, go on, go on,’. The cuckoo losing his patience, ran after her, catching her in a blacksmith’s workshop, where, taking hold of a hammer, he squashed her on an anvil, making her eyes pop out of her head”.

La Cicala

Posted by Serena 3 Comments

Jun 29 2011

It’s official, summer is here. The announcement was made a few days ago by la cicala (the cicada). Throughout the hot days of summer and into the autumn il frinio, the monotonous strident song of the cicala can nearly always be heard somewhere in the background. It’s a sound that I’ve always taken for granted, and even though it’s not the most musical of melodies I love it because for me it is ‘the sound of summer’.

But what exactly is una cicala, and how can something that makes so much noise be so difficult to spot?

La cicala (Lyristes plebejus)

La cicala is a fairly large insect, usually between 2.5 and 5.5 cm long, but due to the fact that it is di colore marrone scuro o verde (dark brown or green in color) and that it lives sugli alberi di diversa specie e sulla vegetazione (on various types of trees and vegetation) it is, naturally, very difficult to find.

Sopra: Una cicala. Ha due paia di ali trasparenti e membranose che a riposo vengono tenute a tetto al di sopra del corpo

Above: A cicada. It has two pairs of transparent membranous wings that when resting are kept in a roof shape above its body.

If you are lucky enough to spot a cicala in action you will see, and hear, something like this:

E come produce quel suono? (And how does it make that sound?)

Well the noisy ones are i maschi (the males) who portano sotto l’addome un organo stridulatore (carry beneath their abdomen a stridulation organ)

The organo stridulatore works in the following way:

L’organo stridulatore è situato ventralmente all’inizio dell’addome, quasi sempre protetto da un paio di larghe piastre protettive, gli opercoli. Sollevati gli opercoli ci sono due cavità per ciascun lato: una più grande ventrale, ed una più piccola laterale. All’interno sono presenti sottili membrane e dei sacchi aerei. Un paio di poderosi muscoli, fra i più potenti descritti nel Regno Animale, si collegano alla membrana e contraendosi producono vibrazioni da cui deriva il famoso frinio che sentiamo.

The stridulation organ is situated beneath the beginning of the abdomen and is almost always protected by a pair of wide protective plates, called opercula. Beneath the opercula are two cavities on each side: a large ventral one, and a smaller lateral one. Inside, are thin membranes and some air sacks. A pair of strong muscles, amongst the most powerful known in the Animal Kingdom, are connected to the membrane and by contracting they produce the vibrations which create the famous sound that we hear.

The female, on the other hand, makes a much quieter sound by rustling her wings together. In this way she advertises her presence to the amorous male, who then attracts her towards him with his clamorous racket. This is the part in the movies where the bedroom light is extinguished and we are left to our imaginations until we find the two lovers lying peacefully the following morning with their twelve legs and eight wings entwined. Suffice it to say that some 24 hours later the female begins to busily deposit her eggs on twigs and branches.

Once hatched, le larve (the larvae) begin their underground work of moving from root to root and feeding on la linfa (sap). This phase lasts for several years (up to 17 in some species!) at the end of which they emerge from the soil and find a nice branch on which they can complete their mutation into the adult cicala. Gli adulti continuano a nutrirsi della linfa degli alberi e a tal scopo usano la loro proboscide. The adults continue to feed on the sap of trees and for that purpose they use their proboscis.

Sopra: L’involucro vuoto di una cicala

Above: The empty shell of a cicada

In part two I’ll be looking at some of the detti (sayings) and proverbi (proverbs) that feature la cicala.

Rimanete sintonizzati!

Le Lucertole Italiane

Posted by Serena 3 Comments

Jun 11 2011

In my last blog “I Serpenti Italiani” we had a look at the most common snakes that you are likely to see here in Italy. Let’s continue with our reptile theme and find out about le più comuni delle lucertole italiane (the most common Italian lizards).

The two lizards that you will see most often, even in towns and cities, are: lucertola muraiola and lucertola campestre both are usually referred to as the Italian wall lizard

Le loro dimensioni variano dai 15 ai 25 cm, compresa la coda. Trovano la tana in buchi nei muri o sotto terra, e appena uscite si riposano al sole per scaldarsi. Sono inattive da ottobre a marzo, ma in giornate particolarmente calde si muovono anche in pieno inverno. Le lucertole hanno la particolarità di poter perdere la coda se questa viene afferrata da un eventuale predatore. Comunque, la coda può in seguito riformarsi, crescendo fino a 2 mm al giorno.

They vary in size from 15 to 25 cm including the tail. They make their dens in holes in walls or underground, and as soon as they come out they rest in the sun to warm themselves up (sounds just like me, in fact we often refer to someone who likes to rest in the sun as una lucertola!). They are inactive from October to March, but on particularly warm days they move about even in the winter (yes definitely sounds like me!). Lizards have the peculiarity of being able to shed their tail if it is grabbed by a possible predator. However, the tail can regenerate itself, growing up to 2mm a day.

So what is the difference between lucertola muraiola and lucertola campestre? Watch this video (in Italian) to find out. Tip: the lizard that you see in the video is a lucertola campestre:

——————————————————————————

More spectacular, but not so easy to find is il ramarro:

Le dimensioni del ramarro sono maggiori di quelle della lucertola muraiola e può raggiungere i 45 cm di lunghezza, coda compresa. Il colore del maschio è verde brillante mentre la femmina è più scura. Nel periodo degli amori la gola del maschio diventa azzurra.

The ramarro is larger than the wall lizard and it can grow up to 45cm, including the tail. The color of the male is brilliant green, whilst the female is darker. In the mating season, the male’s throat becomes azure.

Despite its brilliant coloring the ramarro is much harder to find because it spends most of its time amongst dense vegetation. We usually see them in the early spring when they are just coming out of letargo (hibernation) and before the plants have grown too thick to hide them.

——————————————————————————

Even harder to spot is the geco comune or tarentola:

Il geco è principalmente notturno, ed va a caccia dal tramonto fino alle prime ore dell’alba. Le sue zampe si sono perfettamente adattate ad aderire alle superfici verticali su cui è solito trascorrere il tempo. È addirittura capace di arrampicarsi su superfici molto liscie come il vetro!

The gecko is mainly nocturnal and hunts between sunset and the early hours of dawn. Its feet are perfectly adapted to adhere to the vertical surfaces on which it usually spends its time. It is even capable of climbing up really smooth surfaces such as glass!

The most common place to spot a gecko in my experience is on the wall of a building at night near a streetlight where it hunts for insects. The gecko loves mosquitoes, and can consume up to 2,000 in a single night.

Italian Blog

Search

Most Popular Posts

Most Recent Posts