这种昆虫竟可以飞行数千里远进行授粉

This is Scientific American's 60-second Science, I'm Christopher Intagliata.

这里是科学美国人——60秒科学系列，我是克里斯托弗·因塔利亚塔。

When you think of pollinators–what comes to mind?

当你想到授粉时，你会想到什么动物?

Bees, butterflies, maybe hummingbirds.

蜜蜂，蝴蝶，也许是蜂鸟。

Well, how about flies?

那么, 苍蝇呢?

Flies in general are the second most important group of pollinating insects.

苍蝇一般是第二重要的授粉昆虫。

So I think they deserve more credit than they often get.

所以我认为苍蝇应该得到比平常多的赞扬。

C. Scott Clem is an insect ecologist at the University of Georgia.

斯科特·克莱姆是乔治亚大学的昆虫生态学家。

And he's been studying a type of fly known as a "hoverfly."

他一直在研究一种叫做“食蚜蝇”的苍蝇。

You may have actually seen them before, masquerading as bees and wasps.

你可能之前见过食蚜蝇，它们可能伪装成了蜜蜂、黄蜂。

They tend to be yellow and black colored, and they're kind of different from other flies in that regard.

它们外观往往呈黄色和黑色，它们在颜色上和其他苍蝇有点不同。

They're these little insects you often find visiting flowers or sometimes they'll actually land on your skin seeking the salt on your skin.

它们是你经常会发现的访花的小昆虫，有时它们会落在你的皮肤上，寻找你皮肤上的盐分。

By studying isotopes in the insects' legs and wings, Clem and his colleagues have now determined that some of these flies make a remarkable autumn migration.

通过研究这些昆虫腿和翅膀上的同位素，克莱姆和他的同事现在确定，其中一些食蚜蝇在秋季进行了非凡的迁徙。

They seem to originate near Ontario, Canada—and then they fly hundreds of miles south, to central Illinois.

它们似乎从加拿大安大略省附近开始起飞，然后向南飞行数百英里，到达伊利诺伊州中部。

And it's possible that some go even further—thousands of miles, perhaps.

有些食蚜蝇甚至可能飞得更远——也许飞了数千英里。

They get up into high altitude air currents.

它们可以进入高空气流飞行。

They're able to just surf on these winds basically, and it takes them these vast distances.

它们基本上可以在这些风中翱翔，借助风可以让它们飞很远的距离。

The results appear in the journal Ecological Monographs.

这项研究结果发表在《生态专题》期刊上。

As for why the flies migrate?

至于这种苍蝇为什么要迁徙?

Well, Clem says they might be pursuing the aphids they eat southward or maybe they're following the blooms of nectar-rich flowers.

嗯，克莱姆表示它们可能是在向南追寻蚜虫作为食物，或者是在追寻富含花蜜的花朵。

And if they're moving they could be moving these ecological services across the continent on an annual basis.

如果它们在迁移，那么它们每年就可以将这些生态服务迁移到整个大陆。

The scientists write that the flies could be transporting billions of grains of pollen across the continent, all while working to exterminate pests.

科学家们写道，这种苍蝇可能在整个大陆运输数十亿粒花粉，同时还在努力消灭害虫。

So even if hoverflies' bee-like appearance is mere mimicry—the ecological services they provide could very well be the real deal.

因此，即使食蚜蝇像蜜蜂一样的外表只是模仿，但它们提供的生态服务很可能是货真价实。

Thanks for listening for Scientific American's 60-second 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。