Marla Spivak: Why bees are disappearing

翻译人员: Yvette Zheng 校对人员: Yukun Chen

This is our life with bees,

有蜜蜂，我们的生活是这样的

and this is our life without bees.

没有蜜蜂，我们的生活会变成这样

Bees are the most important pollinators

蜜蜂是水果，蔬菜，花朵的

of our fruits and vegetables and flowers

最重要的传粉者

and crops like alfalfa hay that feed our farm animals.

我们喂给农场动物的苜蓿草，也是由蜜蜂授粉的

More than one third of the world's crop production

世界上三分之一的农产品都是依靠

is dependent on bee pollination.

蜜蜂来传授花粉。

But the ironic thing is that bees are not out there

但是讽刺的是，蜜蜂并不是

pollinating our food intentionally.

有意地為我們的食物传授花粉的。

They're out there because they need to eat.

他们在那里是因为它们需要进食。

Bees get all of the protein they need in their diet

蜜蜂从花粉中获得

from pollen

每日所需的蛋白质

and all of the carbohydrates they need from nectar.

并从花蜜中获得所需的碳水化合物。

They're flower-feeders,

它们依靠花朵生存，

and as they move from flower to flower,

当它们从一朵花移到另一朵花的时候，

basically on a shopping trip at the local floral mart,

就像在逛当地的鲜花市场，

they end up providing this valuable pollination service.

它们不经意间也传授了花粉。

In parts of the world where there are no bees,

在世界上没有蜜蜂的地区，

or where they plant varieties that are not attractive to bees,

或者某些地区所种植的树木花草对蜜蜂不具吸引力，

people are paid to do the business of pollination by hand.

必须雇佣工人进行人工授粉

These people are moving pollen from flower to flower

这些人用刷子将花粉

with a paintbrush.

从一朵花转移到另一朵花上。

Now this business of hand pollination

如今，手工传授花粉这一工作

is actually not that uncommon.

其实并不少见。

Tomato growers often pollinate their tomato flowers

西红柿种植者通常用手持振动仪

with a hand-held vibrator.

帮助西红柿花传授花粉。

Now this one's the tomato tickler. (Laughter)

这是一张西红柿花粉振动器的照片（笑声）

Now this is because the pollen within a tomato flower

这是因为西红柿花的花粉

is held very securely within

被紧紧锁在

the male part of the flower, the anther,

花的雄性部分，即花药之中，

and the only way to release this pollen is to vibrate it.

释放花粉的唯一方法是震动花药。

So bumblebees are one of the few kinds of bees in the world

大黄蜂是世界上少数蜜蜂中

that are able to hold onto the flower and vibrate it,

可以握住花朵并将其震动的，

and they do this by shaking their flight muscles

他们通过抖动飞行肌来震动花朵

at a frequency similar to the musical note C.

震动的频率类似于音乐的C大调。

So they vibrate the flower, they sonicate it,

它们震动花朵，用近声波的频率震动花朵，

and that releases the pollen in this efficient swoosh,

在高效的振动中，释放花粉，

and the pollen gathers all over the fuzzy bee's body,

花粉因而聚集到毛茸茸的蜜蜂身上，

and she takes it home as food.

她把花粉作为食物带回家。

Tomato growers now put bumblebee colonies

现在，西红柿种植者为了授粉西红柿

inside the greenhouse to pollinate the tomatoes

把大黄蜂的蜂巢放在温室里

because they get much more efficient pollination

因为它们在自然授粉时

when it's done naturally

更有成效

and they get better quality tomatoes.

他们从而得到更好的西红柿。

So there's other, maybe more personal reasons,

然而还有其他更个人的理由

to care about bees.

去关心蜂。

There's over 20,000 species of bees in the world,

全世界拥有超过20,000个品种的蜂

and they're absolutely gorgeous.

它们非常让人赞叹。

These bees spend the majority of their life cycle

这些蜂度过其生命周期的大部分

hidden in the ground or within a hollow stem

隐藏在地下或在一个空心茎内

and very few of these beautiful species

而且很少数这些美丽的品种

have evolved highly social behavior like honeybees.

已经像蜜蜂一样有高度进化的社会行为。

Now honeybees tend to be the charismatic representative

蜜蜂倾向于是超凡魅力的代表

for the other 19,900-plus species

相对于其他 19,900多的蜂种

because there's something about honeybees

因为有一些关于蜜蜂的事情

that draws people into their world.

吸引人们进入他们的世界。

Humans have been drawn to honeybees

人类自早期有记录的历史

since early recorded history,

开始就被蜜蜂所吸引，

mostly to harvest their honey,

主要是为了收获他们的蜜，

which is an amazing natural sweetener.

蜜是很棒的的天然甜味剂。

I got drawn into the honeybee world

我被吸引到蜜蜂世界

completely by a fluke.

完全源于偶然。

I was 18 years old and bored,

我那时18 岁，很无聊

and I picked up a book in the library on bees

我在图书馆随便拿起一本关于蜂的书

and I spent the night reading it.

当晚阅读了这本书。

I had never thought about insects

我从没想过昆虫

living in complex societies.

生活在复杂的社会。

It was like the best of science fiction come true.

这就像最好的科幻成真。

And even stranger, there were these people,

而更奇怪的是，这些人，

these beekeepers, that loved their bees like they were family,

这些养蜂人，像家人一样爱着蜜蜂，

and when I put down the book, I knew I had to see this for myself.

当我放下这本书，我就知道我要亲自看看。

So I went to work for a commercial beekeeper,

于是我去为商业养蜂人工作，

a family that owned 2,000 hives of bees in New Mexico.

一个拥有 2,000 个蜂箱的新墨西哥州的家庭。

And I was permanently hooked.

我从此被迷住了。

Honeybees can be considered a super-organism,

蜜蜂可以被视为一个超级有机体，

where the colony is the organism

蜂巢就是这个有机体

and it's comprised of 40,000 to 50,000

它由 4万至5万只

individual bee organisms.

蜜蜂有机个体组成。

Now this society has no central authority.

这个社会并没有中央权力。

Nobody's in charge.

没有人统领。

So how they come to collective decisions,

所以他们如何做统一的决定，

and how they allocate their tasks and divide their labor,

以及他们如何分配他们的任务和工作，

how they communicate where the flowers are,

他们如何沟通鲜花在哪里，

all of their collective social behaviors are mindblowing.

他们所有的集体社会行为让人叹为观止。

My personal favorite, and one that I've studied for many years,

我个人最喜欢的，也是我研究多年的，

is their system of healthcare.

是他们的保健系统。

So bees have social healthcare.

蜜蜂有社会医疗保健。

So in my lab, we study how bees keep themselves healthy.

所以在我的实验室，我们研究蜜蜂如何保持自己身体健康。

For example, we study hygiene,

例如，我们研究卫生，

where some bees are able to locate and weed out

一些蜜蜂能够找到并驱赶

sick individuals from the nest, from the colony,

生病的个体，离开蜂巢，離開聚居地，

and it keeps the colony healthy.

保持蜂巢的健康。

And more recently, we've been studying resins

最近，我们一直在研究

that bees collect from plants.

蜜蜂从植物收集的树脂。

So bees fly to some plants and they scrape

蜜蜂飞到一些植物上，从叶子上刮取

these very, very sticky resins off the leaves,

这些非常、 非常粘的树脂，

and they take them back to the nest

然后带它们回巢

where they cement them into the nest architecture

粘合成蜂巢结构

where we call it propolis.

我们称之为蜂胶。

We've found that propolis is a natural disinfectant.

我们发现蜂胶是天然的消毒剂。

It's a natural antibiotic.

它是天然的抗生素。

It kills off bacteria and molds and other germs

它杀死了蜂巢里的

within the colony,

细菌，霉菌和其他菌

and so it bolsters the colony health and their social immunity.

从而，它奠基了蜂巢的健康和社会免疫功能。

Humans have known about the power of propolis

人类早已知道蜂胶的功能

since biblical times.

从圣经时代开始。

We've been harvesting propolis out of bee colonies

我们一直从蜂巢中收集蜂胶

for human medicine,

作为人类的药物，

but we didn't know how good it was for the bees.

但是我们不知道它给蜜蜂带来了多大的益处。

So honeybees have these remarkable natural defenses

蜜蜂一直有这些非凡的天然防卫

that have kept them healthy and thriving

来保持他们健康和繁荣

for over 50 million years.

在过去的5000万年里。

So seven years ago, when honeybee colonies

所以七年前，当蜂巢

were reported to be dying en masse,

头一次在美国

first in the United States,

被报道正逐渐集体消亡时，

it was clear that there was something really, really wrong.

很明显，这意味着有些事情很严重地错了。

In our collective conscience, in a really primal way,

以我们集体意志出发，以最原始的点出发，

we know we can't afford to lose bees.

我们知道我们不能承受失去蜜蜂。

So what's going on?

所以，到底怎么了？

Bees are dying from multiple and interacting causes,

蜜蜂正消失缘于很多交互的因素，

and I'll go through each of these.

我会一一讲解。

The bottom line is,

底线是，

bees dying reflects a flowerless landscape

蜜蜂的消失反映了没有花朵的景观

and a dysfunctional food system.

和功能失调的食物系统。

Now we have the best data on honeybees,

现在我们拥有最好的蜜蜂数据，

so I'll use them as an example.

我会以它为例。

In the United States, bees in fact have been

在美国，蜜蜂其实

in decline since World War II.

从二战时期就开始减少。

We have half the number of managed hives

现在我们只拥有半数的蜂巢

in the United States now compared to 1945.

相较于1945年的美国。

We're down to about two million hives of bees, we think.

我们估计，我们只剩大约200万的蜂巢

And the reason is, after World War II,

原因是，在二战后，

we changed our farming practices.

我们更改了耕作方式。

We stopped planting cover crops.

我们停止种植氮肥作物。

We stopped planting clover and alfalfa,

我们停止种植三叶草和苜蓿，

which are natural fertilizers that fix nitrogen in the soil,

它们是天然的肥料，可以固定土壤里游离氮，

and instead we started using synthetic fertilizers.

然而，我们开始使用人工肥料。

Clover and alfalfa are highly nutritious food plants for bees.

三叶草和苜蓿是能提供蜜蜂高营养食物的植物。

And after World War II, we started using herbicides

并且二战后，我们开始使用除草剂

to kill off the weeds in our farms.

杀死农田里的杂草。

Many of these weeds are flowering plants

很多这些杂草是开花植物

that bees require for their survival.

蜜蜂需要这些花存活。

And we started growing larger and larger crop monocultures.

而且我们开始种植越来越大片的单一作物。

Now we talk about food deserts,

我们现在讨论的是食物沙漠，

places in our cities, neighborhoods that have no grocery stores.

在我们城市的很多地方，附近没有杂货店。

The very farms that used to sustain bees

那曾经维持蜜蜂生计的农田

are now agricultural food deserts,

现在成了农作物荒漠，

dominated by one or two plant species

只有一两种植物

like corn and soybeans.

例如玉米和大豆。

Since World War II, we have been systematically

从二战开始，我们一直在系统地

eliminating many of the flowering plants

消除很多开花植物

that bees need for their survival.

蜜蜂赖以生存的植物。

And these monocultures extend even to crops

这种单一栽培甚至延伸到

that are good for bees, like almonds.

对蜜蜂有益的作物，像杏树。

Fifty years ago, beekeepers would take a few colonies,

五十年前，养蜂人会放几箱蜂箱，

hives of bees into the almond orchards, for pollination,

在杏树中间，为了授粉，

and also because the pollen in an almond blossom

同时也因为杏树开花期的花粉

is really high in protein. It's really good for bees.

富含蛋白质营养。对蜜蜂很好。

Now, the scale of almond monoculture

现在，杏树单一耕作的规模

demands that most of our nation's bees,

要求我们全国大多数的蜜蜂，

over 1.5 million hives of bees,

超过150万蜂箱的蜜蜂，

be transported across the nation

由全国运送到这里

to pollinate this one crop.

为这单一作物授粉

And they're trucked in in semi-loads,

它们被装入大货柜车运输来，

and they must be trucked out,

它们还必须被运输走，

because after bloom, the almond orchards

因为开花期后，杏树果园

are a vast and flowerless landscape.

会是一片很大的无花地景。

Bees have been dying over the last 50 years,

过去的50年间，蜜蜂一直在消亡，

and we're planting more crops that need them.

而我们种植了更多需要它们的植物。

There has been a 300 percent increase in crop production

需要蜜蜂的植物

that requires bee pollination.

已经增长了超过300%。

And then there's pesticides.

接下来是杀虫剂。

After World War II, we started using pesticides

二战后，我们开始大规模使用杀虫剂

on a large scale, and this became necessary

这变成必要的，

because of the monocultures that put out a feast

因为单一耕作模式

for crop pests.

为害虫提供了一顿盛宴。

Recently, researchers from Penn State University

最近，来自宾夕法尼亚州立大学的研究人员

have started looking at the pesticide residue

开始研究花粉上的杀虫剂残留物

in the loads of pollen that bees carry home as food,

这些蜜蜂将当做食物带回家的花粉，

and they've found that every batch of pollen

他们发现

that a honeybee collects

蜜蜂收集的每批花粉

has at least six detectable pesticides in it,

都至少含有六种可测的杀虫剂，

and this includes every class of insecticides,

覆盖了各类杀虫剂，

herbicides, fungicides,

除草剂，除菌剂，

and even inert and unlabeled ingredients

甚至杀虫剂中

that are part of the pesticide formulation

惰性的和未标示的成份

that can be more toxic than the active ingredient.

都可能比活性成份更有毒性。

This small bee is holding up a large mirror.

小小的蜜蜂正举着一面巨大的镜子。

How much is it going to take to contaminate humans?

要污染到人类需要多少呢？

One of these class of insecticides,

其中的一类杀虫剂，

the neonicontinoids,

新类烟碱化合物,

is making headlines around the world right now.

正在全世界各大头条中出现。

You've probably heard about it.

你可能听说过。

This is a new class of insecticides.

这是一类新的杀虫剂。

It moves through the plant so that a crop pest,

它包含在植物中，所以害虫，

a leaf-eating insect,

食叶害虫，

would take a bite of the plant

只要吃一口植物

and get a lethal dose and die.

就会得到致命剂量的毒素并死去。

If one of these neonics, we call them,

如果其中之一的neonics，

is applied in a high concentration,

被高浓度的应用，

such as in this ground application,

比如在这耕地应用，

enough of the compound moves through the plant

足够的化合物会通过植物

and gets into the pollen and the nectar,

到达花粉和花蜜中，

where a bee can consume, in this case,

那里蜜蜂会进食，在本例中，

a high dose of this neurotoxin

高剂量的这类神经毒素

that makes the bee twitch and die.

会使得蜜蜂抽搐并死去。

In most agricultural settings, on most of our farms,

大多数农业状况下，在我们的多数农场中，

it's only the seed that's coated with the insecticide,

只有种子会被涂上杀虫剂，

and so a smaller concentration moves through the plant

所以只有较小浓度通过植物

and gets into the pollen and nectar,

到达花粉和花蜜中，

and if a bee consumes this lower dose,

如果蜜蜂摄入较少剂量，

either nothing happens

可能什么都不发生

or the bee becomes intoxicated and disoriented

或是让蜜蜂中毒并失去方向

and she may not find her way home.

它可能找不到回家的路。

And on top of everything else, bees have

在所有这些原因之外，蜜蜂

their own set of diseases and parasites.

有它们自己的疾病和寄生虫。

Public enemy number one for bees is this thing.

蜜蜂的头号公敌是这个。

It's called varroa destructor.

它叫做瓦螨。

It's aptly named.

它被很巧妙的命名。

It's this big, blood-sucking parasite

它是大吸血寄生虫

that compromises the bee's immune system

损害蜜蜂的免疫系统

and circulates viruses.

和传播病毒。

Let me put this all together for you.

让我给你一个全面概念。

I don't know what it feels like to a bee

我不知道那是什么感觉

to have a big, bloodsucking parasite running around on it,

带着一个在身上游荡的吸血虫

and I don't know what it feels like to a bee to have a virus,

我也不知一只蜜蜂感染了病毒会有什么感觉，

but I do know what it feels like when I have a virus, the flu,

但我知道，我患流感的感觉，

and I know how difficult it is for me to get

我知道让我（生病时）去杂货店买有营养的食物

to the grocery store to get good nutrition.

有多难。

But what if I lived in a food desert?

尤其，如果我生活在食物荒漠中呢？

And what if I had to travel a long distance

如果我一定要走很远的距离

to get to the grocery store,

才能到达杂货店，

and I finally got my weak body out there

而最终当我虚弱的身体到达那里时

and I consumed, in my food,

我说吃的食物中，

enough of a pesticide, a neurotoxin,

含有足够的杀虫剂，神经毒素，

that I couldn't find my way home?

让我不能找到回家的路？

And this is what we mean by multiple

这就是我们所说的

and interacting causes of death.

多重交互的死亡原因。

And it's not just our honeybees.

而且这不仅仅关于我们的蜜蜂。

All of our beautiful wild species of bees

所有美好的野生蜂类

are at risk, including those tomato-pollinating bumblebees.

都在危险中，包括那些给西红柿传粉的大黄蜂。

These bees are providing backup for our honeybees.

这些蜂类是我们蜜蜂的后备力量。

They're providing the pollination insurance

他们在提供传粉保险

alongside our honeybees.

同我们的蜜蜂一起。

We need all of our bees.

我们需要所有的蜂类。

So what are we going to do?

所以，我们应该怎么做呢？

What are we going to do about this big bee bummer

我们要怎么处理我们制造的

that we've created?

这个巨大的蜂类无赖？

It turns out, it's hopeful. It's hopeful.

结果是，它是充满希望。它是充满希望。

Every one of you out there can help bees

你们中的每一个人都可以通过

in two very direct and easy ways.

两个非常直接、 简单的方式帮助蜜蜂。

Plant bee-friendly flowers,

种植蜂类友好的花类，

and don't contaminate these flowers,

并且不用杀虫剂污染这些

this bee food, with pesticides.

是蜂类食物的花朵

So go online and search for flowers

所以上网并搜索当地的开花植物

that are native to your area and plant them.

并种植它们。

Plant them in a pot on your doorstep.

把它们种到你门口台阶的花盆中

Plant them in your front yard, in your lawns,

将它们种植到你的前院，你的草坪上，

in your boulevards.

你的林荫大道上。

Campaign to have them planted in public gardens,

提倡运动将它们种植到公共花园里，

community spaces, meadows.

社区空间，草地上。

Set aside farmland.

撇开农田不说，

We need a beautiful diversity of flowers

我们需要美丽的多样的花

that blooms over the entire growing season,

在整个生长期盛开，

from spring to fall.

从春天到秋天。

We need roadsides seeded in flowers for our bees,

我们需要在路边种上花，为了我们的蜜蜂，

but also for migrating butterflies and birds

也为了迁徙的蝴蝶和鸟类

and other wildlife.

和其他野生动物。

And we need to think carefully about putting back in

所以我们需要认真考虑

cover crops to nourish our soil

重新种植固氮作物，滋养我们的土地

and nourish our bees.

也滋养我们的蜜蜂。

And we need to diversify our farms.

我们需要让我们的农田多样化。

We need to plant flowering crop borders and hedge rows

我们需要种植有花的稻物边界和缓冲田埂

to disrupt the agricultural food desert

瓦解农作物食物沙漠

and begin to correct the dysfunctional food system

并更正我们曾创建的

that we've created.

机能失调的食物系统。

So maybe it seems like a really small countermeasure

所以，也许它看起来是个

to a big, huge problem -- just go plant flowers --

对应巨大的问题很小的对策--仅仅去种花--

but when bees have access to good nutrition,

但是当蜂类能够得到更好的营养，

we have access to good nutrition

我们就能够得到更好的营养

through their pollination services.

通过他们的授粉服务。

And when bees have access to good nutrition,

当蜂类能够得到更好的营养，

they're better able to engage their own natural defenses,

它们就能更好的使用它们自己的天然防御

their healthcare,

它们曾经

that they have relied on for millions of years.

依赖了几百万年的保健系统。

So the beauty of helping bees this way, for me,

这种帮助蜂类的动人之处，对我来说，

is that every one of us needs to behave

在于我们每个人都需要表现得

a little bit more like a bee society, an insect society,

更像蜂类社会一些，一个昆虫社会，

where each of our individual actions

那里我们每个人的行动

can contribute to a grand solution,

可以成就一个巨大的解决办法，

an emergent property,

一个新兴的财富，

that's much greater than the mere sum

它比我们每个人的小小行动的加和

of our individual actions.

要大得多。

So let the small act of planting flowers

所以让我们这微小的种花行动

and keeping them free of pesticides

及保持它们无杀虫剂

be the driver of large-scale change.

成为大规模改变的动力。

On behalf of the bees, thank you.

代表所有的蜂类，谢谢。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

Chris Anderson: Thank you. Just a quick question.

Chris Anderson：谢谢。几个小问题。

The latest numbers on the die-off of bees,

最近的关于消亡蜂类的数据

is there any sign of things bottoming out?

有没有任何迹象显示会走出低谷？

What's your hope/depression level on this?

你对这件事情的希望或者绝望程度是多少？

Maria Spivak: Yeah.

Maria Spivak:是。

At least in the United States,

至少在美国，

an average of 30 percent of all bee hives

平均30%的蜂巢

are lost every winter.

在每年冬天消失。

About 20 years ago,

大约20年前，

we were at a 15-percent loss.

这个数据是15%。

So it's getting precarious.

所以越来越危险。

CA: That's not 30 percent a year, that's -- MS: Yes, thirty percent a year.

CA：不会是每年30%。那是--- MS：是的，每年30%。

CA: Thirty percent a year. MS: But then beekeepers are able to divide their colonies

CA：每年30%。 MS：但是那时养蜂人会把他们的蜂巢分出来。

and so they can maintain the same number,

这样他们可以维持同样的数量，

they can recuperate some of their loss.

他们可以弥补一些损失。

We're kind of at a tipping point.

我们近乎在临界点

We can't really afford to lose that many more.

我们其实不能承担失去更多了。

We need to be really appreciative

我们真的需要感谢

of all the beekeepers out there. Plant flowers.

所有的养蜂人。种花者。

CA: Thank you.

CA:谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）