农药居然是蜜蜂危险的诱惑

Pesticides offer bees a risky allure

农药居然是蜜蜂危险的诱惑

Bees flit from flower to flower dining on nectar.Sometimes that nectar may contain traces of widelyused pesticides. Yet the bees are unlikely to knowwhich nectar is tainted. Indeed, they can't tastethese pesticides, a new study finds. However, thepesticides are similar to nicotine. This canencourage the bees to come back for more. Andespecially troubling: A second new study suggeststhe pesticides can harm some wild bees.

蜜蜂轻盈的从一朵花飞到另一朵花上采集花蜜，有时这些花蜜上可能会残留常用的农药，但是蜜蜂似乎察觉不到哪个花蜜已被其污染。一项新研究发现他们的确尝不出农药的味道。它的作用类似于尼古丁，致使蜜蜂对其上瘾，引诱着它们返回来食用更多。此外尤为让人头疼的是一项新研究表明农药会伤害到很多野蜜蜂。

The pesticides are known as neonicotinoids (Nee-oh-NICK-uh-tin-oydz). Farmers use them toprotect their crops from certain insects. The two new bee studies add to the controversysurrounding the use of these chemicals on corn and other crops.

农药也称为新烟碱类农药，农民利用它来保护庄稼免受一些昆虫的破坏。两项关于蜜蜂的新研究使得农药在玉米及其他庄稼上的使用更加备受争议。

In the lab, scientists tested how nerves in the mouthparts of honeybees and bumblebeesrespond to three widely used neonicotinoids. And they found no reaction to any of them.What this means: "I don't think they can taste it at all," says Geraldine Wright. She works atNewcastle University in England. There, she studies nerve signaling in bees.

实验室里，针对蜜蜂和大黄蜂口腔内的神经对三种经常使用的新烟碱农药的反映，科学家进行了一场测试。最终结果是他们发现两种蜜蜂对其没有任何反应。就职于英格兰纽卡斯尔大学专门从事蜜蜂神经信号研究的Geraldine Wrightbiaoshi 指出这意味着蜜蜂尝不出农药的任何味道。

Her team's new findings suggest that bees in nature can't taste or avoid nectar laced with thechemicals. They published their new data online April 22 in Nature.

她的团队的新发现表明大自然中的蜜蜂尝不出或者说不能避免沾有化学物质的花蜜。4月22号他们在自然杂志上在线发表了这一新实验数据。

Especially troubling: The chemistry of the pesticides may keep bees coming back for more,Wright says. Offered a choice in the lab, both honeybees and bumblebees preferred sugar waterdosed with a neonicotinoid pesticide. The insects sipped more of it than plain sugar water. Thebees might not have tasted a difference between the two feeders. Wright表示尤其令人烦恼的是，农药这种化学物质可能会阻止蜜蜂飞回来采集更多花蜜。实验室，他们发现蜜蜂和大黄蜂更加喜欢掺有烟碱类农药的糖水并且与普通糖水比起来，他们会喝更多。可能蜜蜂并不能尝出二者之间有什么区别。