英语听力文摘 English Digest 491、蜜蜂也吃肉？（在线收听）

Carnivorous Bees
蜜蜂也吃肉？

I guess you never heard of Trigona hypogea, a South American bee that not only collects meat from animal carcasses, but has more recently been discovered to have a taste for live prey as well.

Scientists have seen the bees swiftly raid recently abandoned wasp nests, carrying off wasp eggs, larvae, and pupae until the nest is empty. They’ve observed the bees collecting toad eggs too.

All developing, young bees need protein. Pollen is actually very rich in protein. The adults of most bee species feed predominantly on nectar and save the pollen for their younger colony members. These South American bees simply require a different source of protein. Their anatomy reflects their different eating habits.

The leg modifications that enable most bee species to transport pollen are largely diminished on these bees. Their mouthparts are sharper, sort of tooth-like.

The bees prepare the meat for later consumption by the younger members of the colony by chewing it and then mixing it with sugary liquids, perhaps collected from fruit. Microbes break the mixture down into a viscous goo, which delivers important nutrients to the young bees.

你也许从未听过一种南美洲的蜜蜂，它们不仅吃动物尸体，而且最近科学家发现它们还喜欢吃活的动物。

蜜蜂迅速地袭击被遗弃的蜂窝，拿走蜂卵，幼虫和蛹，把蜂巢搬空。科学家们观察发现蜜蜂还会收集蟾蜍卵。

所有的小蜜蜂都需要蛋白质。花粉是蛋白质含量很高。大多数的成年蜜蜂主要以花蜜为生，并且将花粉留给幼蜂。这些南美蜜蜂只是需要不同的蛋白质出处。解剖学反应出它们不同的饮食习惯。

蜜蜂腿上那些能帮助它们运输花粉的装饰物在这些南美洲蜜蜂上大部分已经消失了。它们的口器变得更锋利，有点像牙齿。

蜜蜂为幼蜂准备的肉是通过咀嚼，然后将肉与含糖的液体，大概是从水果中提取的。微生物将混合物分解成一种粘稠物，这种粘稠物将重要的营养输送给幼蜂。