正文：
Honey bees are social insects that live in colonies.
蜂群里生活的蜜蜂是群居昆虫。
A bee colony consists of a queen bee, male drones and thousands of female worker bees.
蜂群由一只蜂王、雄性雄蜂和数千只雌性工蜂组成。
Each colony also contains eggs and immature bees in various stages of development.
每个群体还包含处于不同发育阶段的卵和未成熟的蜜蜂。
The number of bees within a colony depends on seasonal changes.
蜂群内蜜蜂的数量取决于季节变化。
A colony's population increases during the warm seasons and decreases during colder seasons.
蜂群里蜜蜂的数量在温暖的季节增加，在寒冷的季节减少。
In recent years, many bee colonies have collapsed or disappeared.
近年来，许多蜂群已经崩溃或消失。
A bee colony collapse occurs when a majority of the bees in a colony disappear and leave behind the queen.
当蜂群中的大多数蜜蜂消失并留下蜂王时，就会发生蜂群崩溃。
Some beekeepers have reported losing 30 to 90 percent of their colonies.
一些养蜂人报告说蜂群里失去了 30% 到 90% 的蜜蜂。
This loss of bee colonies can cause significant problems for farmers who depend on them to pollinate their crops.
蜂群的丧失会给依赖蜂群授粉的农民带来严重的问题。
In some parts of the world，a shortage of bees has increased the cost of renting bees by up to 20%.
在世界某些地区，蜜蜂短缺使租用蜜蜂的成本增加了 20%。
There are several possible causes for bee colony collapse.
蜂群崩溃有几种可能的原因。
One possible cause is the use of new pesticides.
一种可能的原因是使用了新的杀虫剂。
Other possible causes include infections from viruses, genetic factors, and malnutrition.
其他可能的原因包括病毒感染、遗传因素和营养不良。
Changing weather patterns may also play a role as summers get hotter and winters get colder.
随着夏季变热和冬季变冷，不断变化的天气模式也可能发挥作用。
These changes in weather may weaken the bees, making it more difficult for them to fight infections.
天气的这些变化可能会削弱蜜蜂的力量，使它们更难抵抗感染。
Whatever the cause of colony collapse，it's important to understand that many parts of our world are interdependent.
无论殖民地崩溃的原因是什么，重要的是要了解我们世界的许多地方都是相互依存的。
Changes that affect one species may have serious effects on other species.
影响一个物种的变化可能会对其他物种产生严重影响。
A change to our environment can start a chain of events that is difficult to predict.
我们环境的改变可能会引发一系列难以预测的事件。
In any complex system such as the Earth's environment, small changes can have unforeseen consequences.
在地球环境等任何复杂系统中，微小的变化都会产生不可预见的后果。
The danger of unforeseen consequences is something we all need to understand better.
我们都需要更好地理解不可预见后果的危险。
(The earth's environment is an extremely complex system.)
地球环境是一个极其复杂的系统。
（In addition to making honey, honeybees help many plants reproduce.)
除了制造蜂蜜，蜜蜂还帮助许多植物繁殖。
