Entomologists -- scientists who study insects -- are working with other scientists to learn why bee colonies are dying in the United States.They call the problem 「colony collapse disorder.」
昆蟲學家與其他科學家合作，研究蜜蜂群在美國消失的原因。他們稱該現象為「蜂群崩潰綜合症。」
VOA recently spoke with amateur beekeepers in Fort Wayne, Indiana who are working to learn about honeybees and how to keep them alive.
VOA最近採訪了印第安納州韋恩堡的業餘養蜂人，他們一直研究蜜蜂以及如何保證蜜蜂的存活。
Bees are needed to produce one third of our food.That is why Megan Ryan is worried about their survival.Earlier this year, she created an apiary, a place where groups, or hives, of honeybees are kept.
我們食物中三分之一都依賴蜜蜂的勞動。 這也是為什麼Megan Ryan很擔心他們的生存的原因。今年初，她開闢了一片蜂房來養蜜蜂。
「Our hives are full of what’s called Italian honeybees.」
「我們的蜂房裡養的都是義大利蜜蜂。」
Italian bees are popular because they are not as aggressive as other kinds of bees.And they reproduce faster than other kinds of honeybees.In just four months, the apiary has grown from 10,000 to 70,000 bees in each hive.
義大利蜜蜂頗受歡迎，因為他們不像其他蜜蜂一樣攻擊性很強。而且他們的繁殖速度比其他蜜蜂快。僅僅四個月時間，每個蜂房的蜜蜂從之前的一萬隻繁殖到七萬隻。
Alex Cornwell is also a beekeeper.He says over the past ten years, both American and European hives have lost more than one fourth of their population.
Alex Cornwell也是一名養蜂人。他說，過去十年中，美國和歐洲的蜜蜂數量減少了四分之一。
「It’s unknown what colony collapse disorder is caused by specifically,but it could be a combination of anywhere from pesticides to mites to pathogens.」
「並不確定蜂群崩潰綜合症是什麼原因造成的，但有可能是農藥，蟎蟲或病原菌共同造成的。」
Every time they visit the apiary, Ms. Ryan and Mr. Cornwell record information about the bees.
Ryan和Cornwell每次去蜂房都會記錄蜜蜂的信息。
「We would share it with the DNR (Department of Natural Resources), other beekeepers --any conservation effort, any organization that would like our records we freely share those.」
「我們會和自然資源局分享信息，其他養蜂人或組織若想為保護蜜蜂作出努力，我們都會把信息分享給他們。」
They also teach people about beekeeping. They want people to begin their own hives.
他們將養蜂知識教給其他人，想要人們都開始養蜂。
「You don’t have to be a scientist that has a degreein order to teach people and help people learn about bees and that’s the awesome part about beekeeping -- anybody can do it.」
「為了將知識教給其他人，幫助人們了解蜜蜂，你不需要非得成為有學歷的科學家，這也是養蜂的魅力——每個人都可以做到。」
About 100 people have said they want to learn more about creating their own hives.Ms. Ryan and Mr. Cornwell say they will start a program to teach migrant workersabout beekeeping so they can take that knowledge with them wherever they work.
大概有100人說想要學習更多的養蜂知識，自己培育蜜蜂。Ryan和Cornwell表示他們會開設相關課程教授外來務工人員養蜂知識，無論他們身處何地，都能用到這些知識。
I’m Marsha James.
Marsha James為您報導。