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Bumblebee Queens Prefer Layovers to Nonstop Flights

They're furry¹, fat, and hibernate² all winter. Not bears - bumblebees. Specifically, the queens, which emerge from hibernation³ in the spring to establish new colonies—a bit of a trek⁴ away. "We knew that queens end up kilometers from the previous year's natal⁵ nest site but we didn't know anything about how they get there." Clint Perry, a cognitive⁶ biologist at Queen Mary University of London.

它们毛茸茸的，胖胖的，整个冬天都冬眠。不是熊，是大黄蜂。具体来说，蜂王在春天从冬眠中醒来，建立新的殖民地——有点像长途跋涉。“我们知道蚁后在距离前一年出生的巢穴几公里远的地方筑巢，但我们对它们如何到达那里一无所知。”伦敦玛丽女王大学的认知生物学家克林特?佩里说。

To observe that phenomenon in action, he and his team glued antennas⁷ to the backs of 20 bumblebee queens, which had been kept under simulated hibernation conditions. The researchers then tracked the insects with radar⁸ as they emerged from small dens⁹ in the dirt. And found that bumblebees take wing for only ten to twenty seconds, before landing for much longer layovers.

为了观察这一现象，他和他的团队将天线粘在20只大黄蜂皇后的背上，这些大黄蜂皇后一直处于模拟冬眠状态。研究人员随后用雷达跟踪这些昆虫从泥土中的小洞里钻出来的情况。结果发现，大黄蜂在着陆前的停留时间要长得多，它们的飞行时间只有10到20秒。

"We were all surprised the bees spent so much time resting in the ground and that they seem to sleep for so much time even. I personally found it amusing and cute that they position their bodies so their head was under a leaf or under grass while their butt¹⁰ was still sticking out in the open."

“我们都很惊讶，这些蜜蜂花了这么多时间在地上休息，它们似乎甚至睡了这么长时间。我个人觉得有趣和可爱的是，他们把自己的身体放在叶子或草下，而他们的屁股仍然伸在外面。”

Observations of wild bees confirmed they do this too--and that it wasn't just the transponders affecting the bees' behavior. As for how they wind up kilometers away from the previous year's nest site? Computer modeling suggests even these short random¹¹ bursts of flight would do the job. The results are in the journal Scientific Reports. [James C. Makinson et al, Harmonic radar tracking reveals random dispersal pattern of bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) queens after hibernation]

对野生蜜蜂的观察也证实了这一点——不仅仅是应答器影响了蜜蜂的行为。至于它们是如何离开前一年的巢穴数公里的呢?计算机模型显示，即使是这些短暂的随机飞行爆发也能完成这项工作。研究结果发表在《科学报告》杂志上。

The findings suggest some queen-friendly conservation ideas: "It would likely help queen bumblebee survival if we established pollinator-friendly corridors between conserved¹² landscape patches. That means planting more pollinator-friendly flowers and pollinator-friendly trees and flowers year round.” The queens also take shelter in long grass and leaf litter, suggesting an intervention¹³ closer to home. If you can resist raking, that is.

研究结果提出了一些有利于蜂后生存的保护理念:“如果我们在保护的景观斑块之间建立有利于授粉的走廊，这可能有助于蜂后的生存。”这意味着一年四季都要种植更多有利于授粉的花朵和树木。女王们还会躲在长草和落叶层中，这意味着要在离家更近的地方进行干预。如果你能忍住不去扒，那就是。