Restrict Pesticides to Save Bees

限制杀虫剂以拯救蜜蜂

From VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture Report.

这里是美国之音慢速英语农业报道。

A decline in the number of honeybees is a growing problem worldwide. The decreasing bee population could contribute to an increase in prices for crops that depend on pollination by honeybees.

蜜蜂数量下降是全球一个日益严重的问题。蜜蜂数量持续减少可能会助长依赖蜜蜂授粉的农作物价格的上涨。

Researchers continue to study the decline while beekeepers like Terrence Ingram struggle to keep their bee colonies alive. He says he loves being at the center of a swarm of bees.

研究人员仍在研究这一下降，而泰伦斯·英格拉姆（Terrence Ingram）等养蜂人则在努力保持他们的蜂群存活。他说他喜欢站在蜂群的中心。

"I love beekeeping. It's one of God's greatest miracles."

他说，”我喜欢养蜂，这是上帝的神迹之一。”

He has raised honeybees since 1954 in managed colonies behind his house in rural Apple River, Illinois.

自1954年以来，他就在自己位于伊利诺伊州Apple River镇农村地区的屋后饲养有管理的蜂群。

"We had 250 hives at one time. We sold five, six tons of honey a year."

“我们曾经拥有250个蜂箱，每年售出五六吨蜂蜜。”

But that number is declining.

但这一数字正在锐减。

"Now we're down to about probably four tons."

“目前我们（售出的蜂蜜）下降到了四吨左右。”

Not because the 73 year-old beekeeper is slowing down, but because there are fewer bees producing honey. He says the decline in his bee population began in 1996. he blames that decline on the use of insecticides and herbicides on the farmland surrounding his property.

这不是因为这位73岁的养蜂人渐渐慢下来，而是因为产蜜的蜜蜂少了。他表示他的蜜蜂数量自1996年开始下降。他将其归咎于自家附近农田使用了杀虫剂和除草剂。

"Every three weeks that summer, they were spraying with the airplane, and by the end of the year, I didn't have any of my 250 hives left."

他说，“那年夏天每三周，他们都在通过飞机喷洒农药。到那年年底，我250个蜂箱的蜜蜂都死光了。”

This caught the attention of researchers like Christian Krupke, a professor at Purdue University who studies bees and other insects.

这引起了像普渡大学研究蜜蜂和昆虫的教授克里斯蒂安·克拉基（Christian Krupke）等研究人员的注意。

"There have been similar reports from Europe in the past, and so we looked into it a little bit further from the point of view of wondering first of all what is killing these bees, and second of all how are these bees acquiring whatever this toxic chemical is."

他说，“欧洲过去一直有类似的报道，所以我们从该角度出发稍微深入调查了一下。想弄明白，首先，是什么杀死了这些蜜蜂；其次，蜜蜂是如何感染上这些有毒化学品。”

Experts say there are many reasons for the worldwide bee decline, not just insecticides.

专家表示，全球蜜蜂数量下降有许多原因，而不仅仅是因为杀虫剂。

But in this case, Proffessor Krupke and his colleagues thought insecticides might be the cause. So they studied the insecticides - known as neonicotinoids - that are applied to seeds as they are planted in the ground, rather than sprayed from above.

但在这起案例中，克拉基教授和他的同事们认为杀虫剂可能就是其原因。所以他们研究了这种新烟碱类杀虫剂，当播种到地下时，这种杀虫剂被应用于种子本身，而不是在播种后从地面喷洒。

"The two compounds that kept coming up when we tested these dead bees were the pesticides clothianidin and thiamethoxam. Those are insecticides that are applied to corn seeds."

他说，“我们检测这些死蜂时不断出现的这两种化学物是杀虫剂噻虫胺（clothianidin）和噻虫嗪（thiamethoxam），它们是应用于玉米种子的两种杀虫剂。”

About 30 years ago, there were 4 million managed bee colonies throughout the United States. Today, there are fewer than 2 million. Researchers like Professor Krupke blame that in part on the use of insecticides.

大约30年前，美国有400万有管理的蜂群。如今，这一数字低于200万。克拉基教授等研究人员就其部分归咎于杀虫剂的应用。

"Can we get by without neonicotinoids insecticides in these field crops? I believe we can. I believe we have data that show that we can."

他说，“我们能在这些农田作物中不使用新烟碱类杀虫剂吗？我认为有数据表明我们可以。”

This December, the European Union plans to ban the use of some insecticides that researchers have linked to bee deaths. No such restrictions are planned in the United States.

今年12月，欧盟计划禁止使用某些杀虫剂，研究人员已将其与蜜蜂死亡联系起来。美国没有计划出台这样的限制。

Illinois beekeeper Terrence Ingram says some of the damage already done is permanent.

伊利诺伊州的养蜂人英格拉姆说，这已经造成了一些永久性的损害。

"We've got many bee keepers around here that have quit, just gone out of business because they can't succeed."

他说，“我们这附近很多养蜂人因为没法成功都退出这行了。”

But not Terrence Ingram, he says his passion for bees is just as strong as it was when he tended his first colony, more than 60 years ago.

但这不包括英格拉姆。他说，他对蜜蜂的激情和他60多年前照顾他首个蜂箱时一样旺盛。