Do you get anxious if there is a bee buzzing around you? Actually, you should be more concerned about it never happening again. Imagine if supermarkets had less than half the fruit and vegetables they currently sell because seventy percent of the most common food crops no longer existed. There would be widespread starvation, and the human population would rapidly decrease. It sounds like something from a sci-fi or horror film. However, that's what could happen in a world without bees.
At least a third of the food on your plate is there because of bees, which pollinate so many crops. Lots of animals, including the ones we eat, feed on other plants that depend on bees. According to the United Nations, the value of global crops pollinated by bees is estimated to be around US$200 billion a year. For humans and many other creatures, bees are much more than just a source of honey or a painful sting. They are a critical part of the world's ecosystems.
Recently, however, beekeepers in many countries have noticed a rapid fall in bee populations. Over a six-year period, more than 10 million beehives have been deserted. Up to sixty percent of bees have died out in some locations. Scientists have a name for this decrease. They call it colony collapse disorder (CCD).
As for the causes of CCD, scientists have identified three main possibilities. The first one is that bee deaths are caused by chemicals. Farmers use more pesticides than they used to, and bees consume these chemicals as they fly from plant to plant. Disease is another suspect. Various bugs have been found in bee colonies affected by CCD. The third possible cause is that bees may be suffering from the effects of climate change and extreme weather. There are other possibilities as well, such as the loss of natural habitat. CCD could be caused by any of these factors, or a combination of them.
Many countries are trying to reverse the decline of bee populations. Scientists are investigating bee diseases to try to identify the specific cause of CCD. Some of the most toxic pesticides have been banned in the European Union and other places. The world hopes that these measures will be successful and bees will continue to buzz around us in the future.
如果有蜜蜂在你周圍嗡嗡作響，你會感到焦慮嗎？事實上，如果這種事不再發生，你才更應該擔心。想像一下，如果超級市場販賣的水果和蔬菜不到目前一半，而原因是最普遍的糧食作物中百分之七十不再存在。那將會造成大範圍的飢荒，而人口將會快速地減少。聽起來像是科幻片或恐怖片的情節。然而，那將可能發生在沒有蜜蜂的世界。
在你的盤子上，至少有三分之一的食物是因為授粉給很多農作物的蜜蜂而得以產出。很多動物，包括我們吃的動物，其主食的植物都要靠蜜蜂。根據聯合國，由蜜蜂授粉的全球農作物，價值估計是一年兩千億美元左右。對人類和很多其他生物來說，蜜蜂帶來的不僅僅只是蜂蜜或令人疼痛的叮螫。牠們是世界生態系統重要的一部分。
然而，最近很多國家的養蜂人開始注意到蜜蜂數量的快速下滑。在六年期間，超過一千萬個蜂窩空空如也。某些地方有高達百分之六十的蜜蜂已經滅絕。科學家給這種減少的現象一個名稱。他們稱之為蜂群崩壞症候群（CCD）。
至於蜂群崩壞症候群的原因，科學家們已經確定出三個主要的可能性。第一個可能性是蜜蜂是被化學藥劑殺死的。農夫們使用的殺蟲劑比以前多，當蜜蜂在植物間飛來飛去時，就吸收了這些農藥。疾病是另一個疑點。各式各樣的蟲害已經在被蜂群崩壞症候群毀掉的蜂巢中發現。第三個可能的原因是蜜蜂正因氣候變遷和極端氣候的效應而受苦。也有其他的可能性，例如喪失天然棲息地。蜂群崩壞症候群可能是由這些因素的其中之一，或由這些因素的結合所造成的。
很多國家正試著逆轉蜜蜂數量衰退的情況。科學家們正在調查蜜蜂的疾病以試著找出蜂群崩壞症候群的明確原因。有些最具毒性的殺蟲劑已經在歐盟與其他地區被禁用。全世界希望這些措施會成功，讓蜜蜂在未來能繼續在我們周圍嗡嗡作響。
