A large European beekeeper group held its yearly meeting this week in France. The group said it is concerned about the effects of climate change, parasites and pesticides on both bees and the world food supply.
一个大型的欧洲养蜂人团体本周在法国举行了年度会议。该组织表示，它担心气候变化、寄生虫和杀虫剂对蜜蜂和世界粮食供应的影响。
 
The beekeepers said bees are dying in large amounts. They also noted that bees are not producing as much honey as in the past.
养蜂人说蜜蜂正在大量死亡。他们还指出，蜜蜂生产的蜂蜜不像过去那么多。
 
The beekeepers said Europe only produces about 60 percent of the honey it consumes. Production in France, the group said, has fallen by more than 50 percent since the 1990s.
养蜂人说，欧洲只生产其消费的蜂蜜的 60% 。该组织表示，自 1990 年代以来，法国的产量下降了 50% 以上。
 
The beekeeping group said its announcement about the bee situation in Europe gives beekeepers and scientists a chance to react to climate concerns.
该养蜂组织表示，其关于欧洲蜜蜂状况的公告使养蜂人和科学家有机会对气候问题做出反应。
 
The spokesperson for the National Union of French Beekeepers is Henri Clement. He is a beekeeper from southeastern France. He said he has been working as a beekeeper and trying to keep bees healthy for 30 years. However, if he had to consider a career for himself today, he said, he might not want to raise bees.
法国养蜂人全国联盟的发言人是亨利·克莱门特。他是来自法国东南部的养蜂人。他说，他从事养蜂人工作 30 年，一直在努力保持蜜蜂的健康。但是，如果他今天必须考虑为自己谋一份事业，他说，他可能不想养蜜蜂。
 
He is close to retirement and wonders if young people will take up the work.
他即将退休，想知道年轻人是否会从事这项工作。
 
The people at the event were all talking about chemicals known as pesticides, which hurt bees. They also discussed climate change and invasive insects and parasites that kill bees and harm beehives.
参加活动的人都在谈论被称为杀虫剂的化学物质，这种化学物质会伤害蜜蜂。他们还讨论了气候变化以及杀死蜜蜂和危害蜂箱的入侵昆虫和寄生虫。
 
Climate danger
气候危险
 
Jeff Pettis is an insect expert based in the United States. He is also president of Apimondia, a group that represents beekeepers in 110 countries. He said bees are at risk because of climate change. When some parts of the world are hotter and drier than in the past, the plants that bees depend on cannot grow. Sometimes, he said, "there are no flowers." Without flowers, bees cannot collect pollen, which means they can die of hunger.
Jeff Pettis 是美国的昆虫专家。他还是 Apimondia 的总裁，该组织代表 110 个国家的养蜂人。他说，由于气候变化，蜜蜂处于危险之中。当世界某些地方比过去更热、更干燥时，蜜蜂赖以生存的植物就无法生长。有时，他说，“没有花。” 没有花，蜜蜂就无法采集花粉，这意味着它们会饿死。
 
Pettis also said wildfires hurt bees. He called the fires "a big issue."
佩蒂斯还说野火伤害了蜜蜂。他称火灾是“一个大问题”。
 
Pettis wrote a report in the past about the plant called goldenrod, which produces a large amount of pollen. He wrote that, as the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere grows, the amount of protein in pollen decreases.
佩蒂斯过去曾写过一篇关于一种叫做黄花的植物的报告，这种植物会产生大量的花粉。他写道，随着大气中二氧化碳含量的增加，花粉中的蛋白质含量会减少。
 
Many of the bees in North America depend on goldenrod pollen to get through winter.
北美的许多蜜蜂都依靠黄花花粉度过冬天。
 
He said the pollen problem could affect other plants, too.
他说花粉问题也可能影响其他植物。
 
In both France and the United States, between 30 and 40 percent of beehives are dying each winter.
在法国和美国，每年冬天都有 30% 到 40% 的蜂箱死亡。
 
Man-made dangers
人为的危险
 
French researcher Jean-Marc Bonmatin said some pesticides hurt bees more than others. A kind of pesticide called a neonicotinoid is absorbed, or taken in, by the entire plant. Other pesticides only affect the part of the plant upon which they are applied. The neonicotinoids can affect the pollen and nectar that is taken in by the bees. The pesticides then poison the bees.
法国研究员 Jean-Marc Bonmatin 说，一些杀虫剂对蜜蜂的伤害比其他杀虫剂更大。一种叫做新烟碱的杀虫剂被整个植物吸收或吸收。其他杀虫剂只影响施用它们的植物部分。新烟碱类物质会影响蜜蜂摄入的花粉和花蜜。然后杀虫剂毒害蜜蜂。
 
Beginning in 2013, the European Union restricted the use of some of these pesticides. The EU banned them fully in 2018. However, some countries are permitting farmers to use them again under "emergency authorizations."
从 2013 年开始，欧盟限制了其中一些农药的使用。欧盟在 2018 年全面禁止它们。然而，一些国家允许农民在“紧急授权”下再次使用它们。
 
Bonmatin said there is one thing that might help farmers make better choices. A newly developed computer program will permit them to find out if the pesticide they want to use is harmful to bees. The farmers will not have to pay for the computer program.
Bonmatin 说，有一件事可以帮助农民做出更好的选择。一个新开发的计算机程序将允许他们找出他们想要使用的杀虫剂是否对蜜蜂有害。农民不必为计算机程序付费。
 
Pettis noted that there are ways people can help bees. He said farmers should start planting a wide range of crops, and not depend as much on crops that need pesticides. He called that kind of farming "sustainable" and "organic."
佩蒂斯指出，人们可以通过多种方式帮助蜜蜂。他说农民应该开始种植多种作物，而不是过度依赖需要杀虫剂的作物。他称这种农业为“可持续的”和“有机的”。
 
In addition, he said, bees can sometimes survive on their own without special help from humans. He talked about a black bee found in the northwestern part of France. The bee is still living even though it has been attacked by parasites and not given extra food by humans.
此外，他说，蜜蜂有时可以在没有人类特别帮助的情况下自行生存。他谈到了在法国西北部发现的一只黑蜂。即使蜜蜂受到寄生虫的攻击并且人类没有提供额外的食物，它仍然活着。
 
He said the bees "survive pretty well even without us."
他说蜜蜂“即使没有我们也能活得很好”。