Honey bees are social insects that live in colonies. A bee colony consists of a queen bee, male drones and thousands of female worker bees. Each colony also contains eggs and immature bees in various stages of development. The number of bees within a colony depends on seasonal changes. A colony's population increases during the warm seasons and decreases during colder seasons.
蜜蜂是群居昆虫，蜂群由蜂王、雄蜂和成千上万的工蜂组成。每个蜂群中还含有处于不同发育阶段的卵和未成熟的蜜蜂。蜂群中的蜜蜂数量取决于季节变化，温暖季节增加，寒冷季节减少。
In recent years, many bee colonies have collapsed, or disappeared. A bee colony collapse occurs when a majority of the bees in a colony disappear and leave behind the queen. Some beekeepers have reported losing 30 to 90 percent of their colonies. This loss of bee colonies can cause significant problems for farmers who depend on them to pollinate their crops. In some parts of the world, a shortage of bees has increased the cost of renting bees by up to 20%.
近年来，许多蜂群崩溃或消失。 当蜂群中的大多数蜜蜂消失并离开蜂王时，蜂群就会崩溃。一些养蜂人报告说，他们损失了30%至90%的蜂群。蜂群的减少会给依赖它们为作物授粉的农民带来严重的问题。在世界上一些地方，蜜蜂的短缺使得租用蜜蜂的成本增加了20%。
There are several possible causes for bee colony collapse. One possible cause is the use of new pesticides. Other possible causes include infections from viruses, genetic factors, and malnutrition. Changing weather patterns may also play a role as summers get hotter and winters get colder. These changes in weather may weaken the bees, making it more difficult for them to fight infections.
蜂群崩溃可能有几个原因，一个可能的原因是新型杀虫剂的使用，其他可能的原因包括病毒感染、遗传因素和营养不良。随着夏季越来越热、冬季越来越冷，气候模式的变化也可能起到一定作用。这些天气变化可能会让蜜蜂虚弱，更难抵御感染。
Whatever the cause of colony collapse, it's important to understand that many parts of our world are interdependent. Changes that affect one species may have serious effects on other species. A change to our environment can start a chain of events that is difficult to predict. In any complex system such as the Earth's environment, small changes can have unforeseen consequences. The danger of unforeseen consequences is something we all need to understand better.
无论蜂群崩溃的原因是什么，重要的是要明白我们世界的很多部分是相互依存的，影响一个物种的变化可能对其他物种产生严重影响，环境的变化会引发一系列难以预测的事件。在任何复杂的系统中，比如地球环境，微小的变化都可能带来无法预料的后果，我们都需要更好地理解意外后果的危险。
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