In the romantic city of lights, the bees are downright busy. Common sense says it is better to keep hives of stinging insects in the countryside, away from city centers packed with people. Yet on storied rooftops and public gardens in the urban jungle of Paris, the bee business is thriving.

在這個浪漫的燈海城市，蜜蜂忙得不可開交。依常識判斷，最好把有螫刺的蜜蜂蜂巢留在鄉下，遠離人聲鼎沸的市中心，但在巴黎這個都市叢林櫛比鱗次的高樓大廈屋頂及公共花園中，養蜂業正蓬勃發展。

Bees are disappearing from fields across France and elsewhere in the world, victims of a slow decline in number because of loss of habitat compounded by a recent and mysterious catastrophe variously blamed on disease, parasites and pesticides. The most recent science research points to a combination of interacting diseases for new collapses of bee colonies.

不只法國全境，在世界其他各地，蜜蜂正從田野消失，蜜蜂數字慢慢減少，主要受害於棲息地流失，再加上最近的神秘災難，原因言人人殊，有的怪疾病，有的怪寄生蟲及殺蟲藥劑。最近的科學研究又把蜂群新近衰竭，指向各種疾病交叉影響所致。

But in the heart of the French capital, Nicolas Geant is preparing to sell off his honey. It comes from hives on the edges of the soaring glass roof of the Grand Palais exhibition hall, just off the Champs-Elysees. “Paris has many balconies, parks and avenues full of trees and little flowers that attract many bees for pollination,” said Geant, who has 25 years of experience under his belt.

但在法國首都都心，養蜂人吉安正準備開始賣蜂蜜，這些蜂蜜可是來自距香榭麗舍大道不遠的大皇宮展覽館高高聳立的玻璃屋頂邊的養蜂場。「巴黎有很多陽台、公園和林蔭大道種滿樹木和各種小花，吸引無數蜜蜂傳授花粉。」吉安說，他可是有25年經驗的養蜂達人。

The Grand Palais beehives went up in May. They also sit in the Luxembourg Gardens, on the gilded dome of the 19th Century Palais Garnier and the roof of the ultramodern Opera Bastille.

巴黎大皇宮養蜂場建於5月。巴黎盧森堡公園及有著鍍金圓頂的19世紀巴黎國家歌劇院和巴士底歌劇院超級現代化的屋頂上也散見蜂房。

“In Paris, each beehive produces a minimum of 50 to 60 kilograms of honey per harvest, and the death rate of the colonies is 3 to 5 percent,” said Henri Clement, president of the National Union of French Beekeepers. “But in the countryside, one beehive only gives you 10 to 20 kilograms of honey, and the death rate is 30 to 40 percent. It is a sign of alarm.”

「在巴黎，每個養蜂場每次採收，至少可以生產50至60公斤蜂蜜，蜂群死亡率在3%至5%之間 ，」法國養蜂人協會會長克萊蒙說。「但在鄉下，一個蜂房只能產生10到20公斤蜂蜜，死亡率則高達30%至40%，這個現象令人震驚。」

The Luxembourg Gardens' hives alone produce more than half a ton of honey per harvest. It is sold to the public during the last weekend in September, and the income funds beekeeping classes and the facilities.

光是盧森堡公園養蜂場，每次收成就能產生半公噸蜂蜜，並在九月最後一個周末開始對外銷售，收入則充當養蜂課程和設備的基金。

Alain Sandmeyer, 63, a volunteer instructor at the gardens, said trees and shrubbery have grown sparser in rural areas, attracting fewer bees. Also, he said, rural bees are dying off from pesticides and fertilizers. In Paris, on the other hand, pesticides are forbidden in all parks and gardens.

63歲的尚梅耶是各養蜂場的義務指導員，農村地區因樹木和灌木林越來越稀疏分散，所吸引的蜜蜂比較少。他並表示，鄉下地區的蜜蜂因殺蟲藥和肥料而衰亡；相反的，巴黎市區各公園和花園一律禁止噴灑殺蟲藥劑。

Urban beekeeping isn't just a Paris thing. Berlin, London, Tokyo and Washington, D.C., are among beekeeping cities. New York City on the other hand, lists bees as “venomous insects,” and beekeeping is punishable by a $2,000 fine.

都市養蜂並非巴黎獨有，柏林、倫敦、東京和華盛頓等也是養蜂的幾個大都會。紐約市則把蜜蜂列為「有毒昆蟲」，養蜂可處2000美元罰鍰。

Parisian Erin Langenburg, 24, a student, said the bees don't bother her when she's in Parisian parks, but they do tend to migrate to outdoor restaurants. “There seem to be a lot of bees when I'm eating outside on a terrace and they annoy me, especially when they get in my drinks,” she said. “I am kind of scared of getting stung by one.”

24歲的巴黎學生艾琳．藍根堡說，當她到巴黎公園閒逛時，並不擔心被蜜蜂叮螫，但這些蜂群的確會往戶外餐廳移動。她說：「當我在室外陽台用餐時，似乎有很多蜜蜂飛舞，讓我感到很困擾，尤其當牠們掉到我的飲料中的時候，我多少有點怕被蜜蜂叮到。」

For many years bee experts worried about an aging population of beekeepers, but a new young generation has suddenly taken on the hobby, said May Berenbaum,head of the entomology department at the University of Illinois.

多年來，養蜂專家一直擔心，養蜂人口老化，但據伊利諾大學昆蟲學系主任梅伊．貝倫包姆指出，年輕新世代忽然愛上養蜂。

Domesticated bee populations worldwide have dropped significantly since the late 1940s. The causes have been mostly loss of habitat, disease, fungi and invading parasites, says a 2007 study by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. It is estimated that half of the honeybee population has disappeared in the U.S. and Britain, according to an April report from the International Bee Research Association. And lately the world has been hit by a new crisis, called colony collapse disorder. In 2007-2008, it caused the loss of 35 percent of U.S. bees.

自1940年代末起，全世界人工養殖的蜜蜂數量銳減，據美國國家科學院2007年的一項研究指出，罪魁禍首主要是棲息地流失、疾病、霉菌及寄生蟲入侵。據國際蜜蜂研究協會四月的一項報告指出，英美兩國估計約有一半蜜蜂消失。最近全世界又面臨一種名為「蜂群衰竭失調」的新危機衝擊，2007至2008年間已導致美國蜜蜂減少35%。

Wild bee populations have also plunged, with disease and loss of habitat being blamed. Last year, 30 percent of Europe's 13.6 million beehives died, according to statistics from Apimondia, an international beekeeping body. A conference recently in Montpellier, France was told that Ireland had a 53 percent drop in bees in 2006, Slovenia lost 30 to 35 percent of its bee colonies last year, and Italy 37 percent.

野蜂數目也遽減，主因也是疾病和棲息地流失。去年，據國際養蜂協會Apimondia統計，歐洲1360萬蜂窩有30%蜜蜂死亡。最近在法國蒙貝利耶舉行的會議也透露，2006年愛爾蘭蜜蜂銳減53%，斯洛維尼亞去年蜂群也少了30%到35%，義大利也減少了37%。

It's not just about honey. The U.S. Agriculture Department estimates a third of our diet comes from sources pollinated by insects, primarily bees. The French beekeepers' union reckons 65 percent of agricultural plants worldwide risk not getting pollinated. The U.S. has had to import huge numbers of bees from Australia to pollinate apple orchards and berry fields.

這不只關係到蜂蜜，美國農業部估計，我們所攝取的食物有三分之一源自以蜜蜂為主的昆蟲傳授花粉。法國養蜂人協會估計，全球有65%農作物面臨未能傳授花粉的風險。美國必須從澳洲進口大量蜜蜂為蘋果園和漿果種植場傳授花粉。

In the Luxembourg Gardens, beekeeping has been going on since 1856. Today, for around $230, Parisians can spend several months learning about and participating in beekeeping and honey-extraction. Volunteer instructor Dominique Castel (photo right) , 64, has been giving all his free time to beekeeping at the gardens since retiring from his aviation industry job 12 years ago. Asked if he gets stung often, he shrugged and said: “You get used to it.”

盧森堡公園1856年開始養蜂，今天，只要花230美元，巴黎人就可以花幾個月時間學習及投入養蜂和取出蜂蜜。64歲的義務指導員卡斯托（圖右，美聯社）自從12年前從航空業退休後，就投入所有空閒時間在園裡教人養蜂，被問及是否常被蜜蜂叮咬時，他聳聳肩說：「習慣就好。」