Karen Hopkin: This is Scientific American’s 60 -Second Science. I’m Karen Hopkin.
Karen Hopkin:这里是《科学美国人》的 60 秒科学。我是Karen Hopkin。
Hopkin: They say it’s darkest before the dawn. And that’s just the way that sweat bees like it.
Hopkin:都说黎明前最黑暗。这正是蜜蜂喜欢它的方式。
These tropical insects, which live on an island in the middle of the Panama Canal, visit night-blooming flowers under cover of darkness. And a new study shows that the shapes made by gaps in the rainforest canopy help them find their way home.
这些热带昆虫生活在巴拿马运河中间的一个小岛上，它们在夜色的掩护下参观夜间盛开的花朵。一项新的研究表明，热带雨林树冠缝隙形成的形状帮助它们找到回家的路。
The work appears in the journal Current Biology. [Sandra Chaib et al., Dorsal landmark navigation in a Neotropical nocturnal bee.]
这项工作发表在《当代生物学》杂志上。[Sandra Chaib 等人，新热带夜行蜜蜂的背侧标志性导航。]
Eric Warrant: Even though most bees are active in bright daylight, there are a few species that have become nocturnal due to competition and due to predators.
Eric Warrant：尽管大多数蜜蜂在明亮的日光下都很活跃，但由于竞争和捕食者，有少数蜜蜂已经转为夜间活动。
Hopkin: Eric Warrant, a professor of zoology at the University of Lund in Sweden.
Hopkin: Eric Warrant，瑞典隆德大学动物学教授。
Warrant: This is particularly true of the warmer parts of the world, such as…the steamy rainforests of Panama.
Warrant：对于世界上较温暖的地区尤其如此，例如……巴拿马潮湿的热带雨林。
Hopkin: Warrant and his colleagues have been studying these night flyers, called Megalopta genalis, for more than 20 years.
Hopkin:Warrant和他的同事们已经研究了这些名为 Megalopta genalis 的夜行者超过20年。
Warrant: We have discovered that, like all bees, Megalopta is able to learn visual landmarks around the nest and presumably also along the foraging route.
Warrant：我们发现，像所有蜜蜂一样，Megalopta 能够学习巢穴周围的视觉地标，并且可能也在觅食路线上。
Hopkin: They use these landmarks to find their way through the vast forest…and to recognize their nests. No easy feat, especially considering the size of these nocturnal navigators.
Hopkin:它们利用这些地标在广阔的森林中寻找路线……并识别它们的巢穴。这可绝非易事，尤其是考虑到这些夜行者的体型。
Warrant: Exactly how they manage to do this with such tiny eyes and with such a small brain is still to a large extent a mystery.
Warrant：他们究竟是如何用这么小的眼睛和这么小的大脑做到这一点的，在很大程度上仍然是个谜。
Hopkin: But it seemed that the first step would be to simply look up.
Hopkin:但第一步似乎是简单地抬头看。
Warrant: There is one visual cue that is quite obvious in this otherwise profoundly dim environment. And these are the bright patches of night sky seen through gaps in the forest canopy directly above.
Warrant：在这个极其昏暗的环境中，有一个视觉线索非常明显。这些是从正上方森林树冠的缝隙中看到的明亮的夜空。
Hopkin: But do the bees raise their eyes while flying forward in the dark? To find out, the researchers got to messin’ with the Megalopta.
Hopkin:但是蜜蜂在黑暗中向前飞行时会抬起眼睛吗?为了找出答案，研究人员不得不把 Megalopta 搞晕。
Sandra Chaib: We placed the Megalopta nest, which is a hollowed-out stick, at a stand in the forest.
Sandra Chaib：我们将 Megalopta 的巢穴放置在森林中的一个架子上，这是一根挖空的棍子。
Hopkin: Sandra Chaib, a University of Lund doctoral student who worked on the project.
Hopkin： Sandra Chaib，一位参与该项目的隆德大学博士生。
Chaib: On both sides of the nest, we placed two additional mock nest sticks which we had drilled holes in to resemble nests.
Chaib：在巢的两侧，我们放置了两个额外的模拟巢棒，我们在上面钻了孔，做成类似巢的形状。
Hopkin: Above each nest, they placed a distinctive visual landmark: a single black bar to mark the real nest and a pattern of stripes in different orientations above the fake nests.
Hopkin:在每个巢穴上方，他们放置了一个独特的视觉标志：黑色的条来标记真正的巢穴，条纹图案来标记假的巢穴。
Chaib: The bee was allowed to forage for a few nights to get acquainted with the area.
Chaib：允许这些蜜蜂觅食几个晚上，以熟悉环境。
Hopkin: And then one night, when the bee was away, Chaib would shuffle the landmarks. And when the busy bee got back…
Hopkin:然后有一天晚上，当蜜蜂离开时，把标记打乱。当忙碌的蜜蜂回来时……
Chaib: … she immediately entered the nest under the landmark she had learned.
Chaib： ……她立即进入了她所了解的地标下的巢穴。
Hopkin: Which was one of the fakes.
Hopkin:这个是其中一个假的。
Chaib: Of course, after a few seconds, she realized her mistake and she came back out again.
Chaib：当然，几秒钟后，她意识到自己的错误，她又回来了。
Hopkin: But after a short flight to get reoriented...she would again make the same mistake. So it seems the bees were sneaking in a last look up before flying in the front door.
Hopkin:但经过短暂的飞行重新定向后……她又犯了同样的错误。所以看起来蜜蜂在飞进门之前偷偷地看了一眼。
And the same thing happened when the researchers used circles of different sizes to form more canopy-like patterns to mark the entrance to the nests.
当研究人员使用不同大小的圆圈形成更多类似树冠的图案来标记巢穴的入口时，同样的事情也发生了。
Chaib: She took a look at the pattern from underneath, and flew directly into the mock nest.
Chaib：她从下面看了一眼图案，直接飞进了模拟巢穴。
Hopkin: The results were as clear as day. But, there in the dark, they weren’t exactly easy to see.
Hopkin:结果一清二楚。但是，在黑暗中，它们并不是很容易看到。
Warrant: Even if we put a hand in front of our face it’s very difficult to see it.
Warrant：即使我们把手放在面前，也很难看到它。
Chaib: Since it was totally dark, I used night goggles to monitor the nest.
Chaib：因为天很黑，我用夜视镜来监视巢穴。
Hopkin: And an infrared camera to film the bees’ comings and goings…after sunset and before dawn.
Hopkin:日落之后和黎明之前，还有一个红外摄像机，用来拍摄蜜蜂的来来去去……。
Chaib: It’s not the most pleasant thing, getting up in the middle of the night to set up the cameras.
柴布：半夜起床架起摄影机可不是件愉快的事。
[Sounds of the rainforest]
[雨林的声音]
Chaib: On the other hand, the rainforest is the most amazing place at that time. Many animals are the most active at this time.
Chaib：另一方面，热带雨林是当时最神奇的地方。许多动物在这个时候是最活跃的。
Hopkin: Even the humble sweat bees…which will showcase their remarkable skills for anyone who’s prepared to watch.
Hopkin:即使是不起眼的汗蜂，它们也会向任何准备观看的人展示它们非凡的技能。
For Scientific American’s 60-Second Science, I’m Karen Hopkin.
这里是《科学美国人》的 60 秒科学，我是Karen Hopkin.。
Karen Hopkin: This is Scientific American’s 60 -Second Science. I’m Karen Hopkin.
Hopkin: They say it’s darkest before the dawn. And that’s just the way that sweat bees like it.
These tropical insects, which live on an island in the middle of the Panama Canal, visit night-blooming flowers under cover of darkness. And a new study shows that the shapes made by gaps in the rainforest canopy help them find their way home.
The work appears in the journal Current Biology. [Sandra Chaib et al., Dorsal landmark navigation in a Neotropical nocturnal bee.]
Eric Warrant: Even though most bees are active in bright daylight, there are a few species that have become nocturnal due to competition and due to predators.
Hopkin: Eric Warrant, a professor of zoology at the University of Lund in Sweden.
Warrant: This is particularly true of the warmer parts of the world, such as…the steamy rainforests of Panama.
Hopkin: Warrant and his colleagues have been studying these night flyers, called Megalopta genalis, for more than 20 years.
Warrant: We have discovered that, like all bees, Megalopta is able to learn visual landmarks around the nest and presumably also along the foraging route.
Hopkin: They use these landmarks to find their way through the vast forest…and to recognize their nests. No easy feat, especially considering the size of these nocturnal navigators.
Warrant: Exactly how they manage to do this with such tiny eyes and with such a small brain is still to a large extent a mystery.
Hopkin: But it seemed that the first step would be to simply look up.
Warrant: There is one visual cue that is quite obvious in this otherwise profoundly dim environment. And these are the bright patches of night sky seen through gaps in the forest canopy directly above.
Hopkin: But do the bees raise their eyes while flying forward in the dark? To find out, the researchers got to messin’ with the Megalopta.
Sandra Chaib: We placed the Megalopta nest, which is a hollowed-out stick, at a stand in the forest.
Hopkin: Sandra Chaib, a University of Lund doctoral student who worked on the project.
Chaib: On both sides of the nest, we placed two additional mock nest sticks which we had drilled holes in to resemble nests.
Hopkin: Above each nest, they placed a distinctive visual landmark: a single black bar to mark the real nest and a pattern of stripes in different orientations above the fake nests.
Chaib: The bee was allowed to forage for a few nights to get acquainted with the area.
Hopkin: And then one night, when the bee was away, Chaib would shuffle the landmarks. And when the busy bee got back…
Chaib: … she immediately entered the nest under the landmark she had learned.
Hopkin: Which was one of the fakes.
Chaib: Of course, after a few seconds, she realized her mistake and she came back out again.
Hopkin: But after a short flight to get reoriented...she would again make the same mistake. So it seems the bees were sneaking in a last look up before flying in the front door.
And the same thing happened when the researchers used circles of different sizes to form more canopy-like patterns to mark the entrance to the nests.
Chaib: She took a look at the pattern from underneath, and flew directly into the mock nest.
Hopkin: The results were as clear as day. But, there in the dark, they weren’t exactly easy to see.
Warrant: Even if we put a hand in front of our face it’s very difficult to see it.
Chaib: Since it was totally dark, I used night goggles to monitor the nest.
Hopkin: And an infrared camera to film the bees’ comings and goings…after sunset and before dawn.
Chaib: It’s not the most pleasant thing, getting up in the middle of the night to set up the cameras.
[Sounds of the rainforest
Chaib: On the other hand, the rainforest is the most amazing place at that time. Many animals are the most active at this time.
Hopkin: Even the humble sweat bees…which will showcase their remarkable skills for anyone who’s prepared to watch.
For Scientific American’s 60-Second Science, I’m Karen Hopkin.
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