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This is Scientific American — 60-Second Science. I'm Christopher Intagliata.

这里是科学美国人——60秒科学。我是克里斯托弗·因塔利亚塔。

Last summer's total solar eclipse sliced right through Columbia, Missouri. "It was remarkable¹. As a biologist I generally reserve that word 'remarkable' for biological phenomena²." Candace Galen is based at the University of Missouri, in Columbia. And, being a biologist, she thought, why not use this astronomical³ phenomenon to study a biological one? Specifically: as the skies darkened, would daytime pollinators, like bumblebees and honeybees, call it quits? "What better activity during an eclipse than to go out with a recorder and record the bees? "

去年夏天的日全食发生时，密苏里州哥伦比亚市正好处于日全食带上。“那真是非凡的奇观。作为生物学家，我一般不用‘非凡’这个词来描述生物现象。”坎迪斯·盖伦就职于哥伦比亚市的密苏里大学。作为生物学家，她当时想的是：为什么不利用这一天文现象来研究生物现象呢？具体来说：随着天空变暗，大黄蜂和蜜蜂等日间传粉昆虫会停止工作吗？“在日全食期间，还有什么活动比带着录音机去记录蜜蜂的声音更好呢？”

So Galen asked 400 citizen scientists—including young students—to place audio recorders in 16 flower patches along the path of totality, in Oregon, Idaho and Missouri. When they analyzed⁴ the audio, they found that during partial eclipse, bee buzzing continued. But when totality hit, the bees went silent... and only the conversational⁵ buzz of human observers could be heard. Then, as the moon passed and the sun again lit up the sky, the bees regained⁶ their buzz. The full write-up is in the Annals of the Entomological Society of America.

因此，盖伦请包括年轻学生在内的400名公民科学家，在俄勒冈州、爱达荷州和密苏里州处于日全食带的16个花田中放置录音机。他们在分析音频时发现，在日偏食期间，蜜蜂的嗡嗡声还在继续。但是在日全食出现后，蜜蜂就沉默了，录音中只有人类观测者唧唧喳喳的谈话声。随后，在月亮移开、太阳再次照亮天空时，蜜蜂的嗡嗡声也再一次出现。完整的报告发表在《美国昆虫学学会年鉴》上。

Galen and her colleagues did notice one strange detail: the individual buzzes lasted longer than normal during the partial eclipse periods. Perhaps, Galen says, because the bees were flying more slowly to navigate⁷ darker conditions. Or maybe they were returning to their nests, thinking the day was through. It's hard to tell from the recording⁸, she says. Which is why, come the next American total solar eclipse in 2024, she'll be back out listening once again. "I'm a scientist, my curiosity is never satisfied, right?"

盖伦及其同事确实注意到了一个奇怪的细节：在日偏食期间，蜜蜂个体嗡嗡声的持续时间比平常要长。盖伦表示，或许这是因为在较暗环境中蜜蜂要减慢飞行速度来确定方向 。或许是它们认为这一天已经结束，所以准备返巢。她说，这很难从录音中分辨出来。因此，在2024年出现下一次美国可观测到的日全食时，她将再次到户外聆听蜜蜂的声音。“我是科学家，我的好奇心永远不会满足，对吧？”

Thanks for listening for Scientific American — 60-Second Science Science. I'm Christopher Intagliata.

谢谢大家收听科学美国人——60秒科学。我是克里斯托弗·因塔利亚塔。