Where Have All the Bees Gone?

Bees play an important part in the growth of crops.About 4,000 wild bee species are native to North America. Other bee species on the continent were imported from Europe to produce honey. Bees also serve as crop pollinators. These pollinators carry material from one plant to another. This helps the plants produce seeds.

蜜蜂对作物的生长来说非常重要。北美洲本土有4000种野生蜜蜂，其他蜜蜂物种则是从欧洲引进以生产蜂蜜。此外，蜜蜂为作物传授花粉，携带花粉从一株植物飞往另一株，有助于作物结籽。

But for the past 40 years, the native bee population has been decreasing. Since the winter of 2006, many honeybees have disappeared. Scientists call this "Colony Collapse Disorder.VOA recently went to the town of Lockeford, in the Central Valley of California. There are mixing plants to try to bring back the bees.

但是，在过去的40年间，本土蜜蜂的数量一直在减少。自2006年冬天起，很多蜜蜂已经消失，科学家将这种现象称为“蜂群崩溃紊乱”。最近，美国之音来到加州中央谷的洛克福德，这里种植了很多不同物种，希望能够将那些蜜蜂吸引回来。

Margaret is a botanist, a scientist who studies plants. She leads the Lockeford Plant Materials Center. It is one of more than 24 centers around the country operated by the United States Department of Agriculture. The centers are working to rebuild ecosystems.

玛格丽特是名植物学家，主要研究各种植物，是洛克福德植物材料中心负责人。该中心是美国农业部运营的24个中心之一，致力于重建健康的生态系统。

For the past several years, Ms. Smither-Kopperl has planted different kinds of flowers, grasses and other plants. She is trying to create a combination of plants that bees will like.

过去几年间，Smither-Kopperl已经种植了不同种类的鲜花，绿草以及其他植物，正试着建立蜜蜂喜欢的植物群。

Life is not easy for bees. They must deal with pesticides and smaller animals that live on or in them, such as bee mites. But the biggest difficulty is the destruction of areas where they live and eat.

蜜蜂想要存活并不容易。它们必须面对各种杀虫剂以及寄生在它们身上的更小的动物，如蜂螨。但是最大的问题在于蜜蜂赖以生存的栖息地和食物遭到了破坏。

Jessa Cruz works at a conservation group.She says growth in agriculture industries and the growth of cities have left bees too few natural areas where they seek their food: Pollen and nectar. These two plant substance make up 100 percent of a bee’s food. So, Ms. Cruz says, bees are totally dependent on some kinds of flowers for their survival.

杰西卡·克鲁丝在一个环保组织工作。她表示随着农业产业的发展以及城市的扩张，蜜蜂觅食的自然环境越来越少。蜜蜂仅以花粉和蜂蜜为食。因此克鲁丝女士表示，蜜蜂完全依赖于某些种类的花朵。

Ms. Cruz also says humans need bees to help crops grow. She says honeybees raised by farmers also face problems. She says farmers provide the bees with food that does not give them what they need when crops are not available. She says that damages the health of the bees.

克鲁丝还表示，人类也需要蜜蜂促进作物的生长。她说，农民养的蜜蜂也面临一些问题。没有农作物时，农户给蜜蜂的食物不能提供蜜蜂所需的营养，这对蜜蜂的健康有害。

But Ms. Cruz says a more serious threat to honeybees is colony collapse disorder. No one knows what causes it or how to stop it. Ms. Cruz works with Margaret to choose and plant the mix of plants at the Lockeford center. They examine whether the plants they have grown bring back native bees that can be used to providepollination to local farms.The two women also urge farmers to put plants that bees like in areas.

但是克鲁丝女士表示蜜蜂面临的更为严重的威胁在于蜂群崩溃紊乱。没人知道出现这种现象的原因，也无人知道如何阻止这一现象。克鲁丝女士与玛格丽特一起在洛克福德中心选择性栽种一些植物，并观察这些植物是否能够吸引本土蜜蜂为当地作物传授花粉。此外，她们还鼓励农民在该地区种植蜜蜂喜欢的植物。

完成阅读

来源:VOA英语新闻爱语吧作者:Monica