密歇根新闻广播 密歇根大黄蜂数量锐减

Bees are disappearing. You might have heard that colony collapse¹ disorder² of European honeybees can nearly wipe out a hive. But native bees are also in trouble.

There are several kinds of bumblebees in Michigan. A recent survey found during the last 20 years, there were a dozen that were fairly common.

Of those twelve species, about half of them have declined and the other half are stable, said Thomas Wood, a post-doctoral research associate at Michigan State University.

He recently completed a survey of bumblebees in the state.

We found him in his lab at MSU.

So of the six that have declined, they've all declined by over 50% and one of them has become extinct, which is the rusty³ patched bumblebee, he said.

That is, extinct from Michigan. There are still some rusty patched bumblebees, but so few that they are now on the federal endangered species list. Why are bumblebees disappearing?

It's a loss of flowers. Many of the bumblebees that are stable fly mainly earlier in the season and so they're more on trees and shrubs⁴. And then, many of the bumblebees that have declined fly later in the season and they're more in prairies and they're more on herbs and forbs, Wood explained.

Prairie areas in Michigan have been disappearing.

On top of that, a class of pesticides⁵ introduced about 25 years ago, called neonicotinoids, has been linked to declining bee populations.

They're acutely toxic⁶ to bees and they're used in agriculture. Almost all the corn that's planted in Michigan, and in the Midwest more generally, is treated with these insecticides, Wood said. They're also used on some other crops such as sugar beets⁷ and soybeans.

Those insecticides are just one factor.

In western Michigan, Amy Irish-Brown is with MSU Extension Service and works closely with fruit tree growers. She stresses farming practices alone are not to blame for the declining bumblebee populations.

We've lost wooded areas as progress takes place. And it's not always just farming. It's housing and other things that destroy those types of landscapes which are refuges for honeybees and bumblebees, she said.

It's gotten to the point that farmers have to pay to bring in more bees, European honeybees. They actually rent hives during blossoming to pollinate crops.

Our recommendation used to be one hive per acre. Now, we like to tell people two hives per acre if they can. So that tells me we're kind of understanding that our native bees just aren't, there are not enough there to help us, Irish-Brown said.

Some orchards⁸ buy bumblebees from commercial sources to help.

Bumblebees work harder. While honeybees don't like to go out on windy or rainy days, bumblebees just keep buzzing from blossom to blossom. The amount purchased does not replace the declining populations, but helps local orchards a bit when they're needed.

There is a way to help bumblebees; all bees, for that matter. And one expert in Grand Rapids says you can help.

RF: My name is Rebecca Finneran. And I am with Michigan State University Extension and I am a Senior Horticulture Educator.

LG: And where are we?

RF: We are in the MSU Extension Grand Ideas Garden which is a demonstration⁹ garden. It's open to the public 24/7.

LG: Well, lead me to the bee patches. That's what I want to see.

RF: Okay. Let's go.

As Finneran took us on a tour of several small patches, she explained whether you have a small backyard or just planting containers at your apartment, you can plant a variety of flowering annuals, perennials¹⁰ and shrubs. Then watch to see which kinds attract the most bees.

I always recommend that people be observant. And so, photograph the patch periodically throughout the season and start observing and learning what kind of bees you have because really your bees are probably not my bees. We're going to be attracting and supporting many different kinds of bees in our gardens.

There are all kinds of recommended plants (find them here).

Finneran also says she knows people are afraid of bees. She says wasps¹¹ and hornets have given all stinging insects a bad reputation. She says unless you're actually allergic¹² to bee stings, don’t worry.

Bees are really there just for food. They're not there to sting you, she said.

The pollinating that bees and other pollinators do is responsible for about a third of the food that ends up on your plate. Those hard-working bumblebees aren't just about flowers, they and other pollinators are essential to producing food.

1 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

2 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

3 rusty   

adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的

参考例句：

• The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。
• I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用，我的法语又荒疏了。

4 shrubs   

灌木( shrub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gardener spent a complete morning in trimming those two shrubs. 园丁花了整个上午的时间修剪那两处灌木林。
• These shrubs will need more light to produce flowering shoots. 这些灌木需要更多的光照才能抽出开花的新枝。

5 pesticides   

n.杀虫剂( pesticide的名词复数 )；除害药物

参考例句：

• vegetables grown without the use of pesticides 未用杀虫剂种植的蔬菜
• There is a lot of concern over the amount of herbicides and pesticides used in farming. 人们对农业上灭草剂和杀虫剂的用量非常担忧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

7 beets   

甜菜( beet的名词复数 )； 甜菜根； （因愤怒、难堪或觉得热而）脸红

参考例句：

• Beets are Hank's favorite vegetable. 甜菜根是汉克最爱吃的蔬菜。
• In this enlargement, barley, alfalfa, and sugar beets can be differentiated. 在这张放大的照片上，大麦，苜蓿和甜菜都能被区分开。

8 orchards   

（通常指围起来的）果园( orchard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They turned the hills into orchards and plains into granaries. 他们把山坡变成了果园，把平地变成了粮仓。
• Some of the new planted apple orchards have also begun to bear. 有些新开的苹果园也开始结苹果了。

9 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

10 perennials   

n.多年生植物( perennial的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Name six perennials and six annuals suitable for indoor flower arrangement. 列出多年生及一年生花朵各六种，它们必须是适合插花的。 来自互联网
• Herbage can be divided into three categories: annuals, biennials, and perennials. 草本植物可分成一年生、二年生和多年生。 来自互联网

11 wasps   

黄蜂( wasp的名词复数 )； 胡蜂； 易动怒的人； 刻毒的人

参考例句：

• There's a wasps' nest in that old tree. 那棵老树上有一个黄蜂巢。
• We live in dread not only of unpleasant insects like spiders or wasps, but of quite harmless ones like moths. 我们不仅生活在对象蜘蛛或黄蜂这样的小虫的惧怕中，而且生活在对诸如飞蛾这样无害昆虫的惧怕中

12 allergic   

adj.过敏的，变态的

参考例句：

• Alice is allergic to the fur of cats.艾丽斯对猫的皮毛过敏。
• Many people are allergic to airborne pollutants such as pollen.许多人对空气传播的污染物过敏，比如花粉。