TED2015
Anand Varma: The first 21 days of a bee's life
安纳德·瓦尔马: 走进蜜蜂生命中的最初21天
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我们听说过蜜蜂正在消失。但是是什么使得蜜蜂的栖息地如此的脆弱？安纳德·瓦尔马养了一些蜜蜂在他家的后院里——在摄像机镜头前——以便近距离地观察它们。这个为《国家地理》而做的项目，给了蜂巢诗意的一瞥——并且揭示了一个对蜜蜂健康最大的威胁：那就是一种捕食出生21天以内幼蜂的螨虫。通过他拍摄的不可思议的影像，并配以Magik*Magik管弦乐队的音乐，瓦尔马向我们展示了这个问题，以及人们为解决这个问题所采取的行动。
Anand Varma - Photographer
Anand Varma's photos tell the story behind the science on everything from primate behavior and hummingbird biomechanics to amphibian disease and forest ecology. Full bio
Anand Varma's photos tell the story behind the science on everything from primate behavior and hummingbird biomechanics to amphibian disease and forest ecology. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
(Music)
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（音乐）
00:26
These bees are in my backyard
in Berkeley, California.
in Berkeley, California.
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这些蜜蜂，生活在我位于
加州伯克利市的家的后院里。
加州伯克利市的家的后院里。
00:30
Until last year,
I'd never kept bees before,
I'd never kept bees before,
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直到去年之前，我从没养过蜜蜂，
00:33
but National Geographic asked me
to photograph a story about them,
to photograph a story about them,
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但是《国家地理》邀请我拍摄一组关于它们的照片，
00:37
and I decided, to be able
to take compelling images,
to take compelling images,
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然后我决定，为了拍出一些令人叹服的照片，
00:39
I should start keeping bees myself.
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我应该开始自己养蜂。
00:42
And as you may know,
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正如你们可能知道的，
蜜蜂为我们三分之一的粮食作物授粉，
00:43
bees pollinate one third
of our food crops,
of our food crops,
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00:46
and lately they've been having
a really hard time.
a really hard time.
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而最近它们却经历了一个非常困难的时期。
00:49
So as a photographer, I wanted to explore
what this problem really looks like.
what this problem really looks like.
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因此作为一个摄影师，
我想对这个问题的真相一探究竟。
我想对这个问题的真相一探究竟。
00:54
So I'm going to show you
what I found over the last year.
what I found over the last year.
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所以我将要向你们展示我去年的发现。
00:58
This furry little creature
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这个毛葺葺的小动物
00:59
is a fresh young bee halfway emerged
from its brood cell,
from its brood cell,
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是一只从蜂巢中露出半个身子的幼蜂，
01:04
and bees right now are dealing
with several different problems,
with several different problems,
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而蜜蜂们现在正面临几个问题，
01:07
including pesticides, diseases,
and habitat loss,
and habitat loss,
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包括农药、疾病以及栖息地的丧失，
01:11
but the single greatest threat
is a parasitic mite from Asia,
is a parasitic mite from Asia,
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但最大的威胁是一种来自亚洲的寄生螨，
01:16
Varroa destructor.
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瓦螨（Varroa destructor）。
01:18
And this pinhead-sized mite
crawls onto young bees
crawls onto young bees
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这种针头大小的螨虫会爬向幼蜂
01:21
and sucks their blood.
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然后吸它们的血。
01:23
This eventually destroys a hive
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这实际上会毁掉一个蜂巢，
01:25
because it weakens
the immune system of the bees,
the immune system of the bees,
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因为它会减弱蜜蜂的免疫系统，
01:28
and it makes them more vulnerable
to stress and disease.
to stress and disease.
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使它们更容易受到压力和疾病的伤害。
01:33
Now, bees are the most sensitive
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当蜜蜂在蜂巢中发育的时候
01:35
when they're developing
inside their brood cells,
inside their brood cells,
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是它们最敏感的时期，
01:38
and I wanted to know
what that process really looks like,
what that process really looks like,
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而我想要了解这个过程是怎样的，
01:41
so I teamed up
with a bee lab at U.C. Davis
with a bee lab at U.C. Davis
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所以我跟加州大学戴维斯校区的一个蜜蜂实验室合作
01:44
and figured out how to raise bees
in front of a camera.
in front of a camera.
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并且琢磨出如何在摄像机前养蜜蜂。
01:47
I'm going to show you
the first 21 days of a bee's life
the first 21 days of a bee's life
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我将在接下来的60秒里，浓缩地
向你们展示一只蜜蜂生命最初的21天。
向你们展示一只蜜蜂生命最初的21天。
01:50
condensed into 60 seconds.
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01:55
This is a bee egg
as it hatches into a larva,
as it hatches into a larva,
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这是一个正在孵化为幼虫的蜂卵，
02:00
and those newly hatched larvae
swim around their cells
swim around their cells
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这些初孵幼虫在它们的蜂巢中游动，
02:05
feeding on this white goo
that nurse bees secrete for them.
that nurse bees secrete for them.
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以这种保育蜂分泌的白色粘性物为食。
02:11
Then, their head and their legs
slowly differentiate
slowly differentiate
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然后，它们的头和腿
在它们变成蛹的过程中慢慢地分化。
在它们变成蛹的过程中慢慢地分化。
02:16
as they transform into pupae.
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02:21
Here's that same pupation process,
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这是跟上面相同的蛹化过程，
02:23
and you can actually see the mites
running around in the cells.
running around in the cells.
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你可以看到螨虫在这些蜂巢中爬行。
02:27
Then the tissue in their body reorganizes
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然后它们身体组织开始重组，
02:31
and the pigment slowly
develops in their eyes.
develops in their eyes.
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而色素也慢慢地在它们的眼睛中发展。
02:38
The last step of the process
is their skin shrivels up
is their skin shrivels up
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这个过程的最后一步是它们的皮肤皱缩
02:44
and they sprout hair.
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并且长出葺毛。
02:47
(Music)
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（音乐）
03:00
So -- (Applause)
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因此——（掌声）
03:06
As you can see halfway
through that video,
through that video,
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正如你在视频中所看到的，
03:09
the mites were running around
on the baby bees,
on the baby bees,
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这些螨虫在小蜜蜂中爬行，
03:12
and the way that beekeepers
typically manage these mites
typically manage these mites
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而养蜂人治理这些螨虫的典型做法
03:16
is they treat their hives with chemicals.
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就是在蜂房里使用化学药品。
03:19
In the long run, that's bad news,
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长远来看，这是一个坏消息，
03:21
so researchers are working
on finding alternatives
on finding alternatives
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因此研究人员正在寻找
03:25
to control these mites.
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治理这些螨虫的替代方案。
03:28
This is one of those alternatives.
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以下是这些替代方案中的一个。
03:30
It's an experimental breeding program
at the USDA Bee Lab in Baton Rouge,
at the USDA Bee Lab in Baton Rouge,
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这是位于巴吞鲁日的美国农业部
蜜蜂实验室的一个试验性育种计划，
蜜蜂实验室的一个试验性育种计划，
03:35
and this queen and her attendant bees
are part of that program.
are part of that program.
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这只蜂后和她的工蜂是这个计划的一部分。
03:39
Now, the researchers figured out
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研究人员了解到
03:43
that some of the bees have
a natural ability to fight mites,
a natural ability to fight mites,
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有些蜜蜂天生拥有抗螨的能力，
03:47
so they set out to breed
a line of mite-resistant bees.
a line of mite-resistant bees.
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所以它们被选出来培育抗螨的蜜蜂。
03:52
This is what it takes
to breed bees in a lab.
to breed bees in a lab.
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这就是在实验室培育蜜蜂的情景。
03:55
The virgin queen is sedated
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先给这只蜂后施以镇静剂，
03:58
and then artificially inseminated
using this precision instrument.
using this precision instrument.
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然后使用这个精密的仪器对它进行人工授精。
04:03
Now, this procedure allows the researchers
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这个过程使得研究人员可以
04:05
to control exactly
which bees are being crossed,
which bees are being crossed,
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准确地控制
使用哪些蜜蜂来进行杂交，
使用哪些蜜蜂来进行杂交，
04:10
but there's a tradeoff
in having this much control.
in having this much control.
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但是这种控制也有一个弊端。
04:13
They succeeded in breeding
mite-resistant bees,
mite-resistant bees,
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他们成功地培育出了抗螨虫的蜜蜂，
04:16
but in that process, those bees
started to lose traits
started to lose traits
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但在这个过程中，这些蜜蜂也开始失去一些特性，
04:19
like their gentleness
and their ability to store honey,
and their ability to store honey,
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比如它们温顺的性格
以及储存蜂蜜的能力，
以及储存蜂蜜的能力，
04:23
so to overcome that problem,
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因此为了克服这个弊端，
04:26
these researchers are now collaborating
with commercial beekeepers.
with commercial beekeepers.
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这些研究人员正与商业养蜂人进行合作。
04:30
This is Bret Adee opening
one of his 72,000 beehives.
one of his 72,000 beehives.
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这是布雷特·埃德正在打开
他拥有的72000个蜂箱中的一个。
他拥有的72000个蜂箱中的一个。
04:35
He and his brother run the largest
beekeeping operation in the world,
beekeeping operation in the world,
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他和他的兄弟经营着世界上规模最大的养蜂活动，
04:39
and the USDA is integrating their
mite-resistant bees into his operation
mite-resistant bees into his operation
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而美国农业部正将自己的
抗螨蜜蜂整合到他的蜜蜂中去，
抗螨蜜蜂整合到他的蜜蜂中去，
04:45
with the hope that over time,
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并希望经过一段时间，
04:47
they'll be able to select the bees
that are not only mite-resistant
that are not only mite-resistant
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他们能选育出一些不仅抗螨，
04:50
but also retain all of these qualities
that make them useful to us.
that make them useful to us.
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而且还保有那些对我们有用的特质的蜜蜂。
04:56
And to say it like that
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这样说来
04:57
makes it sound like we're manipulating
and exploiting bees,
and exploiting bees,
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好像我们是在操纵和利用蜜蜂，
05:01
and the truth is, we've been doing that
for thousands of years.
for thousands of years.
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而事实是，我们已经这样做了几千年了。
05:04
We took this wild creature
and put it inside of a box,
and put it inside of a box,
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我们将这种野生生物放进箱子里，
05:09
practically domesticating it,
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对它进行驯养，
05:11
and originally that was
so that we could harvest their honey,
so that we could harvest their honey,
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我们这样做，原本就是
为了收获它们的蜂蜜，
为了收获它们的蜂蜜，
但是随着时间的推移，
我们开始失去我们的本地传粉者
我们开始失去我们的本地传粉者
05:15
but over time we started losing
our native pollinators,
our native pollinators,
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05:18
our wild pollinators,
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——我们的野生传粉者，
05:20
and there are many places now
where those wild pollinators
where those wild pollinators
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并且现在，在很多地方
这些野生传粉者
这些野生传粉者
05:23
can no longer meet the pollination
demands of our agriculture,
demands of our agriculture,
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对于我们的农业来说是供不应求，
05:27
so these managed bees have become
an integral part of our food system.
an integral part of our food system.
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所以这些被管理起来的蜜蜂，
已经成为我们的食品系统的组成部分。
已经成为我们的食品系统的组成部分。
05:32
So when people talk about saving bees,
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所以当人们谈论拯救蜜蜂时，
05:35
my interpretation of that
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我对此的解释是
05:37
is we need to save
our relationship to bees,
our relationship to bees,
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我们需求拯救我们跟蜜蜂的关系，
05:40
and in order to design new solutions,
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而为了设计新的解决方案，
05:45
we have to understand
the basic biology of bees
the basic biology of bees
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我们得去了解蜜蜂最基础的生物特质，
05:50
and understand the effects
of stressors that we sometimes cannot see.
of stressors that we sometimes cannot see.
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去了解那些我们无法看见的压力
对它们产生的影响。
对它们产生的影响。
05:57
In other words, we have
to understand bees up close.
to understand bees up close.
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换句话说，我们得更贴近地去了解蜜蜂。
06:01
Thank you.
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谢谢。
06:03
(Applause)
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（掌声）
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Anand Varma - PhotographerAnand Varma's photos tell the story behind the science on everything from primate behavior and hummingbird biomechanics to amphibian disease and forest ecology.
Why you should listen
Anand Varma is a freelance photographer and videographer who started photographing natural history subjects while studying biology at the University of California, Berkeley. He spent several years assisting David Liittschwager before receiving a National Geographic Young Explorer grant to document the wetlands of Patagonia.
Varma has since become a regular contributor to National Geographic. His first feature story, called “Mindsuckers,” was published on the November 2014 cover of the magazine. This incredible look at parasites won Varma the World Press Photo's first prize in the nature category in 2015.
Anand Varma | Speaker | TED.com