小譯說
有沒有好奇過蜜蜂是用什麼材料築巢的？有沒有好奇過野生動物們對於自然界中出現的人造材料的反應？快來看看小蜜蜂們是怎麼用塑料築巢的吧！
Plastic is piling up in ecosystems all over the world, not just oceans and lakes. Its harmful effects on wildlife have been widely documented, but a few animals — like bowerbirds and hermit crabs — are doing what they can to recycle it. And according to a 2014 study, wild bees in Canada have joined the effort, using bits of plastic waste to build their nests.
不僅僅是湖泊和海洋，塑料已經充斥在全球生態系統中。塑料對於野生動物造成的危害已經被廣泛地記錄在案，但一些動物——如園丁鳥和寄居蟹——正在儘自己所能地再利用這些塑料。據2014年的一項報導，加拿大的野生蜜蜂也加入到了回收利用塑料的隊伍當中，他們利用小塊的廢棄塑料來建造蜂巢。
These tiny insects can't recycle nearly enough plastic to put a significant dent in the problem. Still, their resourceful use of polyurethane and polyethylene illustrates how widespread plastic pollution has become, and how some wildlife is adapting to it.
這些小蜜蜂的努力無法減輕塑料汙染問題。但是他們大量使用聚氨酯和聚乙烯的行為說明了塑料垃圾已經變得如此分布廣泛，也展示了野生動物們是如何應對塑料汙染的。
"Plastic waste pervades the global landscape," the study's authors write in the journal Ecosphere. "Although adverse impacts on both species and ecosystems have been documented, there are few observations of behavioral flexibility and adaptation in species, especially insects, to increasingly plastic-rich environments."
這項研究的作者在《生態圈》（Ecosphere）雜誌上表示：「塑料垃圾已經遍布全球，儘管物種和生態系統受到的負面影響已有記載，但我們很少觀察到物種對塑料泛濫的生存環境表現出行為的靈活性和適應性，尤其是昆蟲。」
The researchers found two species of leafcutter bees incorporating plastic into their nests, each bringing home varieties that mimic the natural materials they traditionally use. Leafcutter bees don't build big colonies or store honey like honeybees, opting instead for small nests in underground holes, tree cavities or crevices in buildings.
研究人員發現有兩種切葉蜂在築巢時會利用塑料，這兩種切葉蜂帶回築巢所用的塑料都與它們所使用的天然材料十分相像。切葉蜂不會像蜜蜂那樣建立大的蜂群或儲存蜂蜜，而是選擇在地下洞穴、樹洞或建築裂縫中建造比較小的巢。
One of the bees they studied, the alfalfa leafcutter, normally bites off pieces of leaves and flowers to make its nests. But the researchers found that three of eight brood cells contained fragments of polyethylene plastic bags, replacing 23 percent of the cut leaves in each cell on average. "
All pieces were of the same white glossy color and 'plastic bag' consistency," the researchers report, "and thus presumably from the same source."
苜蓿切葉蜂是此次研究的對象之一，它們通常會咬下樹葉和花來築巢。但是研究人員發現，8個巢室中有3個中含有聚乙烯塑膠袋的碎片，平均每個巢室中有23%的成分是塑料取代了原本的樹葉。研究報告中表示：「每一片都有著同樣的白色光澤和塑膠袋的密度，因此可以推斷為來自同一來源。」
While they don't make honey, alfalfa leafcutter bees still make money for U.S. and Canadian farmers by pollinating crops including alfalfa, carrots, canola and melons. The Eurasian insects were introduced to North America in the 1930s for that purpose, and they've since become feral, joining the continent's many native species of leafcutter bees.
雖然苜蓿切葉蜂不產蜂蜜，但它們通過給苜蓿、胡蘿蔔、油菜和甜瓜等作物授粉為美國和加拿大的農民帶來了收入。因此在上世紀30年代，苜蓿切葉蜂從歐洲被引進美洲，自此融入了美洲大陸上的許多其他切葉蜂，成為了野生物種。
Bees use plastic in Argentina, too
阿根廷的蜜蜂也使用塑料
In a separate study conducted in Argentina between 2017 and 2018, researchers studying chicory pollinators found a nest made entirely of plastic. It's the first known example of such construction worldwide. They believe the bees that made the nests are alfafa leaf-cutting bees as in the example above.
在2017年至2018年在阿根廷進行的另一項研究中，研究人員在對菊苣的傳粉者進行研究時，發現了一個完全由塑料製成的蜂巢。這是全世界範圍內發現的第一個全部由塑料製成的蜂巢。研究人員們認為築巢的蜜蜂就是上文提到的苜蓿切葉蜂。
Unfortunately, the nest was not healthy. New Scientist describes it:
不過不幸的是，這個蜂巢並不健康。《新科學家》（New Scientist）中這樣描述了這個蜂巢：
The plastic included thin, blue strips the consistency of disposable shopping bags, and white pieces that were a bit thicker. In this nest, one brood cell had dead larva in it, one was empty and may have contained an unidentified adult that emerged, and one cell was unfinished.
使用的塑料中包含了與塑膠袋購物袋一樣薄厚的藍色塑料條和稍微厚一點的白色塑料。在這個蜂巢中，一個巢室中有死亡的幼蟲，一個是空的，可能曾是某個幼蟲成為成蟲後離開留下的，另外一個巢室尚未完成。
The study was conducted by Mariana Allasino of the National Agricultural Technology Institute in Argentina and a team of researchers, and published in the journal Apidologie.
這項研究由阿根廷國家農業技術研究所（National Agricultural Technology Institute in Argentina）的瑪麗安娜·阿拉西諾（Mariana Allasino）和一個研究小組完成，並發表在《養蜂學》（Apidologie）雜誌上。
Bees using sealants
蜜蜂使用密封劑
The Canadian researchers also examined a second bee, the native American Megachile campanulae, which normally gathers resins and saps from trees to build its nests. Along with those natural nest materials, the species was found using polyurethane sealants in two of seven brood cells.
These sealants are common on exteriors of buildings, but since they were surrounded by natural resins in M. campanulae nests, the researchers say bees may be using them incidentally and not due to a lack of natural resin options.
加拿大的研究人員還對另一種美洲本土切葉蜂Megachile campanulae進行了研究，它們通常從樹上收集樹脂和樹液來築巢。除了天然的築巢材料，人們發現這種蜂的7個巢室中有2個存在聚氨酯密封劑。聚氨酯經常作為密封劑被應用在建築外部。研究人員認為聚氨酯出現在蜂巢中應屬於偶然，並非缺少可以利用的自然樹脂。
"It is interesting to note that in both bee species, the type of plastic used structurally reflects the native nesting material," the researchers added, "suggesting that nesting material structure is more important than chemical or other innate traits of the material."
「值得注意的是，對上述的兩種蜜蜂來說，築巢使用的塑料類型都與自然築巢材料相像」，研究人員補充道：「這也說明築巢的結構要比其化學性狀和其他性質更為重要。」
Plastic can have both advantages and disadvantages in bees' nests, the study suggests. The bees that used bits of plastic bags didn't suffer any parasite outbreaks, for example, echoing a 1970 study of alfalfa leafcutters that nested inside plastic drinking straws.
Those bees were never attacked by parasitic wasps, which were unable to sting through the plastic, but up to 90 percent of their brood still died because the plastic didn't let enough moisture escape, encouraging the growth of dangerous mold.
研究表明，用塑料造蜂巢並非一無是處。使用塑膠袋碎片築巢的蜂巢不會受到寄生蟲的危害，比如1970年的一項研究中，發現苜蓿切葉蜂利用塑料吸管築巢。這些切葉蜂從來沒有受到過寄生蟲的侵擾，因為寄生蟲無法咬破塑料，但因為溼氣無法充分排出，利於有害黴菌的生長，因此高達90%的幼蟲死亡。
The plastic bags also didn't stick together as well as leaves do, the researchers note, and easily flaked off when they were inspected. But the bees took steps to minimize this structural deficiency, locating their plastic pieces only near the end of a series of brood cells.
Because of this, and the blending of manmade with natural materials, "bee naivete does not appear to be the cause for the use of plastic," the study suggests.
同時研究人員表示，塑膠袋也無法像樹葉一樣緊密地連在一起，在研究時更容易散開。但是蜜蜂們採取措施弱化了塑料這一結構劣勢，只將這些塑料片放在靠近巢室末端處。因為如此，人造材料與天然材料融合，所以研究人員認為：「蜜蜂使用塑料築巢可能不是因為其愚蠢」。
It's still unclear why exactly leafcutter bees are using plastic, but as non-biodegradable materials continue piling up in nature, this kind of behavior could become increasingly important.
"Although perhaps incidentally collected," the researchers write, "the novel use of plastics in the nests of bees could reflect ecologically adaptive traits necessary for survival in an increasingly human-dominated environment."
目前還不清楚切葉蜂究竟為什麼使用塑料，但隨著不可生物降解材料在自然界的不斷堆積，這種行為可能變得越來越重要。研究人員寫道：「雖然可能是偶然收集到的，但創新地在蜜巢中使用塑料可以反映出在人類日益主導的環境中生存所必需的生態適應性特徵。」
蜜蜂用塑料築巢這樣的行為或許很新奇有趣，但其背後的塑料汙染問題必須引起我們的重視。現在就行動起來吧！保護環境從少用一個塑膠袋開始！
本文為百度翻譯原創內容
翻譯：葛新 （北語）
編輯：Judith
文章來源：mnn