3个月内，巴西已经有5亿蜜蜂死亡

3个月内，巴西已经有5亿蜜蜂死亡

Being significant contributors to the reproduction of various plants, bees are one of the most integral pollinators in nature. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), bees are responsible for pollinating 75% of the world’s crops. However, they are rapidly dying. Within a 3-month period, Brazil has lost over 500 million bees, leaving the future of our food in question.

蜜蜂是自然界中最重要的传粉者之一，对各种植物的繁殖起着重要的作用。根据联合国粮食及农业组织(FAO)的数据，蜜蜂为世界75%的农作物授粉。然而，它们正在迅速死亡。在3个月的时间里，巴西已经损失了5亿多只蜜蜂，这给我们未来的食物带来了问题。

It is reported that 500 million bees were found dead by beekeepers in four Brazilian states — 400 million in Rio Grande do Sul, 7 million in São Paulo, 50 million in Santa Catarina, and 45 million in Mato Grosso do Sul.

据报道，巴西4个州的养蜂人发现了5亿只蜜蜂死亡，其中4亿只在南比布布格兰德州，700万只在圣保罗，5000万只在圣卡塔琳娜，4500万只在南马托格罗索州。

Image credits: scrural.sc.gov.br

The data has been collected from December 2018 to February 2019.

数据收集时间为2018年12月至2019年2月。

Image credits: rostichep (not the actual photo)

The vice president of Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul beekeeping association, Aldo Machado, told Bloomberg that within 48 hours, tens of thousands of honey bees in his colony died after falling sick. “As soon as the healthy bees began clearing the dying bees out of the hives, they became contaminated. They started dying en masse,” he said.

巴西南格兰德养蜂协会副会长奥尔多·马查多告诉彭博社，48小时内，他的蜂群中有数万只蜜蜂因生病而死亡。“一旦健康的蜜蜂开始清理蜂箱里垂死的蜜蜂，它们就受到了污染。它们开始集体死亡，”他说。

Image credits: hpgruesen (not an actual photo)

The researchers put blame on this devasting situation to the high increase of pesticide use. Since January Brazil has approved almost 300 new pesticides for use on crops.

研究人员将这种毁灭性的情况归咎于杀虫剂使用的大量增加。自1月份以来，巴西批准了近300种用于农作物的新型杀虫剂。

Researchers have found pesticide traces, such as fipronil, in some of the dead bees. It is an insecticide which is commonly used for veterinary purposes such as helping to get rid of fleas and ticks.

研究人员在一些死去的蜜蜂身上发现了杀虫剂的痕迹，比如fipronil。它是一种杀虫剂，通常用于兽医的目的，如帮助摆脱跳蚤和蜱虫。

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies fipronil as a possible human carcinogen.

美国环境保护署(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)将菲普罗尼列为一种可能的人类致癌物。

Image credits: skeeze ( not an actual photo)

Not only does this mean that pesticides are harmful to bees, but the effect on humans is also worrying.

这不仅意味着杀虫剂对蜜蜂有害，而且对人类的影响也令人担忧。

Image credits: NiklasPntk (not an actual photo)

Alberto Bastos the president of the Apiculturist Association of Brazil’s Federal District told Bloomberg that: “The death of all these bees is a sign that we’re being poisoned.”

巴西联邦地区养蜂人协会的Alberto Bastos总统告诉彭博社:“所有这些蜜蜂的死亡是我们中毒的标志。”

Image credits: NiklasPntk (not an actual photo)