新的研究表明，飞蛾在为花卉和植物授粉方面扮演着重要的角色

新的研究表明，飞蛾在为花卉和植物授粉方面扮演着重要的角色

Moths have long been seen as the annoying creatures that leave holes in your clothes. But new research suggests that those pesky insects have been badly misjudged.

长久以来，飞蛾一直被视为在你的衣服上留下洞洞的讨厌生物。但新的研究表明，这些讨厌的昆虫被严重误判了。

A new study, published this week in the journal Biology Letters, found that moths play a vital but overlooked role in pollinating flowers and plants overnight -- visiting more plant species than even bees.

本周发表在《生物学快报》杂志上的一项新研究发现，飞蛾在夜间为花卉和植物授粉方面发挥着重要但被忽视的作用，甚至比蜜蜂拜访更多的植物物种。

"[Nocturnal moths] complement the work of daytime pollinators, helping to keep plant populations diverse and abundant," Richard Walton, an environmental scientist at University College London and lead author of the study, said in a news release.

“(夜蛾)补充了白天传粉者的工作，帮助保持植物种群的多样性和丰富性，”伦敦大学学院的环境科学家、该研究的第一作者理查德·沃尔顿在新闻发布会上说。

"They also provide natural biodiversity back-up, and without them, many more plant species and animals, such as birds and bats that rely on them for food, would be at risk."

“它们还为自然生物多样性提供了后盾，如果没有它们，更多的植物物种和动物，例如依赖它们作为食物的鸟类和蝙蝠，将面临危险。”

The study comes as moth populations around the world are facing severe declines, Walton wrote in an email to CNN.

沃尔顿在给CNN的一封电子邮件中写道，这项研究是在全球蛾类数量面临严重下降的情况下进行的。

The findings are especially significant given that species of bees are also facing dramatic declines. If certain bee or butterfly species disappeared from the landscape, he said, moths could potentially fill in that pollination gap -- which is critical to a healthy ecosystem.

考虑到蜜蜂的种类也在急剧减少，这一发现显得尤为重要。他说，如果某些蜜蜂或蝴蝶物种从景观中消失，飞蛾可能会填补授粉空缺，这对一个健康的生态系统至关重要。

"As we realize that they are important contributors to the pollination process, it becomes even more important to protect moth populations because we might be placing ourselves at risk," Walton wrote.

沃尔顿写道:“当我们意识到它们是授粉过程的重要贡献者时，保护飞蛾种群就变得更加重要了，因为我们可能会把自己置于危险之中。”

Moths visited more plant species than bees and other insects

飞蛾比蜜蜂和其他昆虫拜访了更多的植物物种

The team from University College London recorded bees, wasps, hoverflies and butterflies as they visited different flower species during the day, and compared those results against the pollen found on moths, which visit and pollinate flowers overnight.

来自伦敦大学学院的研究小组记录了蜜蜂、黄蜂、果蝇和蝴蝶白天拜访不同花种的情况，并将这些结果与飞蛾的花粉进行了比较，飞蛾在夜间拜访并为花朵授粉。

The study was conducted around nine ponds in Norfolk, England, during March through October of 2016 and 2017.

这项研究是在2016年3月至10月和2017年期间，在英国诺福克郡的9个池塘附近进行的。

Researchers swabbed 838 moths and found that 381 of them transported pollen from 47 different plant species, including at least seven rarely visited by bees, hoverflies and butterflies. Meanwhile, a network of 632 bees, wasps, hoverflies and butterflies visited 45 plant species and 1,548 social bees visited 46 plant species.

研究人员采集了838只飞蛾的样本，发现其中381只飞蛾传递了47种不同植物的花粉，其中至少有7种很少被蜜蜂、果蝇和蝴蝶拜访。同时，由632只蜜蜂、黄蜂、果蝇和蝴蝶组成的网络拜访了45种植物，1548只社会蜜蜂拜访了46种植物。

The scientists did not directly measure pollination, the process that allows for fertilization and the production of seeds, but rather the earlier stages in the process such as flower visitation and pollen transport.

科学家们并没有直接测量授粉过程，即受精和产生种子的过程，而是测量授粉过程的早期阶段，如拜访花和花粉运输阶段。

The role of moths has been understudied

飞蛾的作用一直没有得到充分的研究

Walton said that future research would hopefully look at just how effective moths are at pollinating.

沃尔顿说，未来的研究将有望着眼于飞蛾如何有效地授粉。

While much research has focused on bees, researchers said that the role moths play in pollinating plants hasn't been studied nearly as much.

许多研究都集中在蜜蜂身上，研究人员说，飞蛾在植物授粉过程中所起的作用还没有得到足够的研究。

Still, this latest study provides encouraging news -- the researchers found that moths transport pollen in a way that is similar to bees and hoverflies.

尽管如此，这项最新研究还是带来了令人鼓舞的消息，研究人员发现，飞蛾传播花粉的方式与蜜蜂和果蝇相似。

So what needs to be done to conserve moth species?

那么需要做些什么来保护飞蛾呢?

"All the research that we and others have done indicate that the best way to protect moths is to protect their habitat," Walton wrote.

沃尔顿写道:“我们和其他人所做的所有研究都表明，保护飞蛾的最佳方式就是保护它们的栖息地。”