After all, their stings can really hurt.

畢竟，它們的刺痛真的會很痛。

Ouch!

哎喲！

But as far as important species go,

但就重要物種而言。

bees are near the top of the list.

蜜蜂接近榜首。

You see, bees are critical pollinators,

你看，蜜蜂是關鍵的授粉者。

meaning they're responsible

意思是他們負責

for pollinating more than a third of the crops

三分之一以上的作物都是由它授粉的。

that feed the world's population.

養活了世界人口。

But today, bees are dying off at record rates.

但如今，蜜蜂正在以創紀錄的速度死亡。

So, what would a world without bees look like,

那麼，沒有蜜蜂的世界會是什麼樣的呢。

and what would that mean for our global food supply?

這對我們的全球糧食供應意味著什麼？

Well, if all the bees on Earth suddenly dropped dead

好吧，如果地球上所有的蜜蜂突然都死了

tomorrow, things wouldn't look good for our planet.

明天，我們的地球就不會有好日子過了。

And that's because pollination is critical

這是因為授粉是關鍵

to the health of our global ecosystem.

對我們全球生態系統的健康。

It's what allows plants to reproduce

是它讓植物得以繁衍

and grow the fruits and vegetables humans need

並種植人類所需的水果和蔬菜

for a balanced diet.

為均衡飲食。

And the thing is, bees are some of

而事情是，蜜蜂是一些... ...

the best pollinators out there.

最好的授粉者在那裡。

In fact, they've coevolved with flowering plants

事實上，它們已經和開花植物共同進化了。

over millions of years to become pollinating machines.

經過數百萬年的時間，成為授粉機器。

Elina Niño: Of course, a lot of them are fuzzy,

Elina Niño。當然，很多人都是模糊的。

so they have hairs,

所以他們有毛髮。

or specialized equipment, so to speak,

或者可以說是專門的設備。

where they can store pollen.

在那裡他們可以儲存花粉。

Narrator: Bees help pollinate the reported

旁白：蜜蜂幫忙授粉的報道

84% of crops humans eat that are insect-pollinated.

人類所吃的農作物中，84%是昆蟲授粉的。

Globally, this accounts for a staggering

在全球範圍內，這佔到了驚人的比例。

$235 billion to $577 billion

2 350億至577億美元

in annual food production.

年糧食產量中。

Without bees and other pollinators,

沒有蜜蜂和其他傳粉者。

supermarket shelves would hold about

超級市場的貨架上大約可以容納

half the fruits and vegetables they have now,

他們現在有一半的水果和蔬菜。

transforming the produce section from this...

將農產品部分從這個...

to this.

對此。

We wouldn't have luxuries like almonds, apples,

我們就不會有杏仁、蘋果這樣的奢侈品。

or avocados.

或傳喚。

Niño: We would also suffer in terms of dairy production.

尼諾。我們在乳製品生產方面也會受到影響。

We use alfalfa to feed dairy cattle,

我們用紫花苜蓿餵養乳牛。

and dairy cattle, of course, produces the milk,

和乳牛，當然是產奶。

and the milk is used to produce

而牛奶是用來生產

many dairy products that we eat.

我們吃的許多乳製品。

When I talk to the kids, all the kids

當我和孩子們說話的時候，所有的孩子們

are very disappointed to hear that we might lose ice cream.

聽到我們可能會失去冰淇淋，非常失望。

Narrator: The extinction of bees could have a disastrous

旁白：蜜蜂的滅絕可能會帶來災難性的後果。

domino effect, killing off animals that eat those plants,

多米諾骨牌效應，殺死吃這些植物的動物。

and so on up the food chain.

以此類推的食物鏈。

Luckily, humanity wouldn't face a global famine

幸運的是，人類不會面臨全球性的饑荒

like you might expect.

就像你所期望的那樣。

Niño: We wouldn't necessarily starve to death,

尼諾。我們不一定會餓死。

because there are a lot of plants that we do eat

因為有很多植物，我們確實吃了

and we depend on that are wind-pollinated,

而我們賴以生存的是風授粉。

including, for example, wheats.

包括，例如，小麥。

Narrator: So if the bee apocalypse does hit,

旁白：所以如果蜜蜂的天啟真的來了，

we could still meet the daily calorie needs

我們仍然可以滿足每天的熱量需求。

of our global population.

佔我們全球人口的。

Our diets, however, would suffer in major ways,

然而，我們的飲食，將受到重大影響。

as foods that provide key nutrients for our bodies

作為為我們的身體提供主要營養物質的食物。

would become scarce and extremely expensive.

將會變得稀缺和極其昂貴。

Niño: A lot of the plants that we eat

尼諾。我們吃的很多植物 A lot of the plants that we eat

that are dependent on animal pollination

依靠動物授粉的

do provide the necessary micronutrients

提供必要的微量營養素

that improve our health.

能改善我們的健康狀況。

We would probably be very sickly.

我們可能會病得很厲害。

So, for example, let's just think about citrus, right?

那麼，舉個例子，我們就想想柑橘吧？

We would probably have issues with scurvy,

我們可能會有壞血病的問題。

if you think about it.

如果你仔細想想。

I guess you could really supplement that with vitamins,

我想你真的可以用維生素來補充。

but again, definitely not all of the vitamins

但同樣，絕對不是所有的維生素

can be as easily accessible to the body

可以很容易地接觸到身體

as they are when you're actually eating them.

因為他們是當你真正吃他們。

Narrator: According to the US Department of Agriculture,

旁白：根據美國農業部的說法

the work that bees do for US farmers is worth

蜜蜂為美國農民所做的工作是值得的。

about $15 billion a year, so without them,

每年約150億美元，所以如果沒有他們。

the cost of produce would skyrocket.

產品成本將急劇上升。

Niño: Especially those who are socioeconomically challenged,

尼諾。特別是那些有社會經濟困難的人。

they already have hard times accessing the healthy foods,

他們已經很難獲得健康食品。

so this would probably impact them even worse.

所以這可能會對他們造成更嚴重的影響。

Narrator: And we could be closer to a bee-less future

旁白：我們可能會更接近一個沒有蜜蜂的未來。

than you might expect.

比你想象的要好。

In 2018, American beekeepers reported losing

2018年，美國養蜂人報告失去了

41% of their colonies,

41%的殖民地。

and worldwide, bees have been dying off

全世界的蜜蜂都在減少

at record rates for the past decade.

在過去十年中，以創紀錄的速度增長。

Niño: Honeybees, at least in the past, I believe, 12 years

尼諾。蜜蜂，至少在過去，我相信，12年

have been declining about

一直在下降

up to 45% annually, in some cases.

每年高達45%，在某些情況下。

Narrator: Scientists haven't pinned down an exact reason

旁白：科學家們還沒有確定一個確切的原因。

for this sudden decline in the bee population.

對於這種蜜蜂數量的突然減少。

However, likely reasons are global warming,

然而，可能的原因是全球變暖。

overuse of pesticides, and parasitic varroa mites,

過度使用殺蟲劑，以及寄生麴黴蟎。

which spread viruses to bee colonies.

它將病毒傳播給蜂群。

Right now, countries around the world are working

現在，世界各國都在努力

to monitor bee colonies and even create

來監控蜂群，甚至創建

new pollination methods using robots.

使用機器人的新授粉方法。

Niño: There are researchers

尼諾。有研究人員

who are trying to develop drone pollinators,

誰在試圖開發無人機授粉器。

so using drone technology

所以使用無人機技術

to pollinate flowers.

來給花授粉。

It all would most likely be more costly.

這一切很可能會更加昂貴。

Narrator: So, what can the average person do

旁白：那麼，普通人能做什麼呢？

to be more bee-friendly?

以期對蜜蜂更加友好?

Well, if you have a garden, plant a range of flowers

好吧，如果你有一個花園，種上一系列的花。

so wandering bees can have access to nectar

漫天飛舞的蜜蜂才有機會獲得花蜜

throughout the year.

一年來，。

Niño: Bees that we have that are wild bees,

尼諾。蜜蜂，我們有 這是野生蜜蜂。

that are native bees,

是在地蜜蜂的。

a lot of them actually nest in soil,

很多人其實都是在土壤中築巢。

so leaving bare ground for those bees is really useful

所以，讓那些蜜蜂裸露的地面是非常有用的

if you're redoing your lawn, for example.

比如說，如果你要重做草坪。

Providing access to water would also

提供水的機會也將

be very helpful for the bees,

對蜜蜂很有幫助。

and reducing pesticide input if at all possible.

並儘可能減少農藥投入。

Narrator: While steps are already being taken

旁白：雖然已經在採取措施

to save the world's bee population,

以拯救世界上的蜜蜂數量。

there's still a lot to be done

任重道遠

to protect Earth's most buzzy pollinators.

以保護地球上最活躍的傳粉者。