Name: 【TED-Ed】- 消失的蜜峰 (The case of the vanishing honeybees - Emma Bryce)
Uploaded: 2014-04-08T03:23:23.000Z
Duration: 3 min 47 s

有件關於環境的謎團正在進行中

and it begins with a seemingly trivial detail

that reveals a disaster of global proportions.

One day, you notice that the honey you slather on your morning toast

某天，你發現塗在早餐吐司上的蜂蜜

you investigate the reason for the price hike.

The number of domesticated honeybees in the US

to be explained by the usual causes of bee death alone:

像是病害、寄生蟲與飢荒來解釋

A typical crime scene has almost no adult bees left in the hive,

典型的犯罪現場即是 幾乎沒有成蜂還在蜂巢裡

except, perhaps, a lonely queen and a few other survivors.

也許，除了一隻孤單的蜂后和一些倖存者

It's full of untouched food stores and a brood of unborn larvae,

裡頭還有沒動過的食物存貨 和一窩還沒出世的幼蜂

suggesting that the adults vacated without waiting for them to hatch.

可能是成蜂沒等牠們孵出就已離巢了

is that there's no tell-tale mass of dead or dying bees nearby.

附近沒有傳言中大量死亡 或垂死的蜜蜂身影

Either they have forgotten their way back to the hive,

These mysterious disappearances aren't new.

這些神祕的失蹤案件並不是頭一遭

Humans have been collecting honey for centuries.

But it wasn't until European settlers in the 1600's

introduced the subspecies, Apis mellifera,

beekeepers have reported occasional mass disappearances,

養蜂人提到三不五時的大量失蹤事件

like disappearing disease, spring dwindle disease

But when in 2006 such losses were found to affect

但是在 2006 年時我們發現這樣的損失

The most frightening thing about this mystery

isn't that we'll have to go back to using regular sugar in our tea.

不是我們得回到過去在茶裡加普通的糖

but they also pollinate our crops on an industrial scale,

但是牠們也以工業規模 在我們的穀物上授粉

generating over 1/3 of America's food production this way.

So, how can we find the culprit behind this calamity?

因此，我們要怎麼找到 這場災難背後的兇手呢？

Here are three of the possible offenders.

a minuscule red pest that not only invades colonies and feeds on bees,

微小的紅色害蟲 不只是侵略領地、以蜂為食

but also transfers pathogens that stunt bee growth

But nowadays, the millions of queen bees distributed

in commercial hives are bred from just a few original queens,

在商業用的蜂巢裡，但這些蜂后 是同一小批的蜂后養大的

which raises the worry about a lack of genetic diversity

因此讓人擔憂缺乏了遺傳的多樣性

which could weaken bees' defenses against pathogens and pests.

可能會減弱蜜蜂 抵抗病原體和害蟲的攻擊

Pesticides used both on commercial beehives and agricultural crops to ward off parasites

在商業蜂巢和農作物中 用來阻擋寄生蟲的農藥

could be getting into the food and water that honeybees consume.

可能會流入蜜蜂攝取的食物和水中

Researchers have even found that some pesticides

In reality, scientists, the actual detectives on this case,

face disagreement over what causes colony collapse disorder.

面臨了導致蜂群衰竭失調主因的爭論

For now, we assume that several factors are the cause.

現階段我們假設某些因素是罪魁禍首

Honeybees aren't necessarily in danger of extinction,

but fewer bees overall means less pollination and higher food costs,

但是蜜蜂減少就意謂著 較少的授粉和較高的伙食費

so it's crucial that scientists solve the case of the vanishing bees.

因此科學家要為蜜蜂消失破案 是非常重要的事

Because while having less honey might be a buzzkill,

crop shortages are something that would truly sting.