When a Fig Tree
Teams Up with Wasps
by Mark Deeble, Victoria Stone 無花果，顧名思義是不開花的，那它通過什麼途徑繁衍後代呢？其實，它是有花的，只不過花開得極其隱蔽，我們根本看不見。不過這不要緊，有一種天生專門為無花果樹服務的小蜂，為它傳播花粉，讓它的後代生生不息。這是自然界裡非常神奇的一對好搭檔。
1)Sycomore figs are found throughout tropical Africa. In Southern Kenya, they thrive along river banks. This is the story of one of those trees. Our African queen is a mature sycomore fig. She started life as a seed one hundred years ago.
在整個非洲的熱帶地區，隨處可見西克莫無花果樹的身影。在肯亞南部的河畔，無花果樹生長茂盛。我們的故事將要講述的是其中的一棵無花果樹。故事中的這位非洲樹後是一棵成熟的西克莫無花果樹，她的生命之旅始於一百年前的一粒種子。 She appears never to flower. Yet mysteriously she fruits several times a year. She seems to have no regard for season and drops her leaves when she pleases. Strangest of all is the relationship upon which she completely depends. 樹後表面上看從不開花，然而神奇的是，她每年卻能結好幾次果。對於季節的變化，她似乎毫不關心，隨心所欲地選擇落葉時間，而最奇異的是一種與她休戚與共的關係。 Every few months, the queen produces up to a ton of fruit. To reproduce, she must transfer 2)
pollen to make seeds and then 3)
disperse them inside the figs. The last crop fell only days ago, but up above she is starting again. 每隔幾個月，樹後就會結出累累碩果，產量可多達一噸。為了繁衍後代，她必須傳授能發育出種子的花粉，然後才可以將種子分散在果實內部。最後一批成熟的果實幾天前才剛落地，但在樹上，她又開始了新一輪的繁殖！ Over the next two weeks, the tiny buds swell to become young figs. Hidden inside each are the queen’s tiny flowers. At this stage a fig is not a fruit, but a secret garden whose delicate perfume attracts a flock of fig wasps. Their arrival will trigger a sequence of events that will 4)
resonate out through the bush. The wasps are all females, laden with pollen and eggs. They must enter the fig via the garden gate to 5)
pollinate the flowers and lay their eggs inside. The one-way passage leads to the secret garden which is lined with hundreds of 6)
microscopic white flowers. Some of these flowers will become seeds, others will be a nursery for fig wasps. The tree will surround each wasp egg with a capsule, called a 7)
gall, which will nourish and protect it. The wasps will soon die, but inside each hanging garden their offspring will live on. The queen is now their 8)
surrogate mother and will care for them.
在接下來的兩周內，只見小小蓓蕾綻放，變成青澀的果實。隱藏在每一個果實裡面的是樹後細小的花朵。在這一階段，無花果與其說是果實，不如說是一座秘密花園，以其濃鬱的香氣吸引了成群的無花果小蜂。小蜂的到來是一切的開端，她們讓整個灌木叢變得熱鬧非凡。這些無花果小蜂都是雌蜂，她們身懷六甲，全身沾滿花粉。她們必須通過花園大門進入無花果的內部，才能對花朵進行授粉，並在果實裡產卵。這是一條通往秘密花園的單向通道，道路兩旁盛開著數百朵白色極小的花。這些小花中有些將會發育成種子，還有些將會為無花果小蜂提供哺育場所。每一個無花果小蜂的卵將會被裹在一種稱為「樹癭」的囊裡，得到滋養和保護。小蜂的生命很快就會終結，然而在每一座「空中花園」裡，她們的子嗣會繼續活下去。樹後現在就成了照顧這些小生命的代理母親。 The queen can produce up to a hundred thousand figs. Inside each, the female fig wasps have enlarged the holes the males made and are now starting to emerge. Their mission is to carry the queen’s pollen to other trees. It is why she raised them. Pollination of a queen is exclusively by appointment. The fig wasp female scrapes out pollen and carefully packs it in special pockets on her breast.
樹後能夠結出近十萬顆無花果。在每一個果實裡面，無花果小蜂的雌蜂已經把雄蜂挖的洞擴大，她們現在正準備出來。雌蜂的使命就是把樹後的花粉帶到其他樹上。這就是樹後養育她們的目的，為樹後傳授花粉是這些小蜂獨家專享的使命。雌蜂把花粉刮出來，小心翼翼地裝進胸部一個特別的囊裡面。 During the night, the female fig wasps have been traveling across Africa. A few have found receptive figs by homing in on the scent from the secret garden. To enter, the female must squeeze through the gate. Her final challenge is to negotiate a spiral valve that leads to the flowers. It might take an hour and will need all her strength. She cannot last much longer, but must still lay her eggs and complete her mission. The tiny wasp’s final act is to repay her debt to the queen, to unpack the precious pollen and fertilize the flowers. It is her gift and the culmination of millions of years of co-evolution between wasp and tree. 在晚上，無花果小蜂的雌蜂在非洲大陸四處奔波。一些雌蜂順著秘密花園散發出來的芬芳找到了可以授粉的無花果。想要進去，雌蜂必須用力從大門處擠進去。她面臨的最後挑戰是如何成功穿過螺旋瓣，到達花朵所在的地方。這可能需要一小時的努力，並且會耗盡她所有的體力。進去後，她已經不能堅持多久了，但還必須完成產卵的使命。小蜂做的最後一件事是報答樹後對她的恩情——取出寶貴的花粉使花受精。這是她的禮物，是數百萬年來蜂樹共同協作、共
同進化的最高境界。 Once again, the two will come together and continue the extraordinary relationship that has provided for so many over millions of years. 蜂與樹將再次相聚，繼續這段不同尋常的關係，這段相互依賴的關係已經持續了數百萬年。■1)
sycomore ['sɪkˌmɔ:] n. 西克莫，西克莫無花果
3)
disperse [dɪˈspɜ:s] v. 使四下散開，消散
4)
resonate [ˈrezəneɪt] v. 迴響
5)
pollinate [ˈpɒləneɪt] v. 傳花粉給，授以花粉，下文的pollination為名詞形式。
6)
microscopic [ˌmaɪkrəˈskɒpɪk] a. 極小的，極微的
8)
surrogate [ˈsʌrəgət] a. 代理的，代替的雖說樹與蜂的關係非常特殊，但無花果樹的合作夥伴當然不止是小蜂。想知道她與其他動物之間的合作嗎？趕快到www.TopEnglish.net或http://blog.sina.com.cn/crazyenglishecho免費下載MP3吧。