它们的重要性还引起了欧巴马政府的关注，本届政府认为传粉昆虫“对国家经济、粮食安全和环境健康至关重要”。

但是，现在传粉昆虫面临着一些困难，美国的有关政府机构正在努力找出问题的根源，以便能为其提供一点帮助。由于尚未完全明了的原因，蜂群正在出现崩溃现象，一些农业产业可能因此受到负面影响。

帝王蝶(Monarch butterfly)的种群数量正在急剧下降，这对北美洲最壮观的一种动物迁徙活动构成了威胁。

蝙蝠也对开花植物进行授粉并传播花种，但是由于栖息地的丧失和一种真菌性疾病的威胁，蝙蝠在北美州的种群正在减少。[请见北美地区保护蝙蝠的行动]

经过几个月的研究，美国政府机构建议在公共土地上采取几项新的行动，提供栖息地以帮助传粉昆虫繁衍生长[请见英文资讯]：

• 保护并恢复野花丛生的栖息地。

• 为传粉昆虫的蜂窝和巢穴开辟空间。

• 提供蝴蝶所需的植物。

• 为其他一些昆虫提供冬季栖息所。

在一篇白宫的博客文章中，总统的科技事务助理约翰·霍尔德伦(John Holdren)敦促私人土地拥有者和房屋所有者为传粉昆虫提供栖息地，他建议采取如下行动[请见英文博客]：

• 为传粉昆虫提供花园，或者不去干扰它们的自然栖息地。

• 慎用农药。

• 进一步了解你所在地区的传粉昆虫的种类。

根据美国农业部(U.S. Department of Agriculture)的资料，四分之三的开花植物和大约35%的世界粮食作物的繁育都依赖于传粉动物。据一些科学家估计，我们吃的粮食中有三分之一是靠鸟类、蝙蝠、蜜蜂、蝴蝶和其他昆虫的传粉活动生产的。

想办法来帮助花粉使者吧，让它们能够继续帮助我们今后从事农作物生产。


Bees, bats, butterflies and why they matter

Bees, bats and butterflies aren’t pests. They’re hardworking pollinators, supporting plant life, ecosystems and agriculture.

They also are important enough for the Obama administration to take notice, calling pollinators “critical to the nation’s economy, food security and environmental health.”

But there’s trouble in the pollinators’ world, and U.S. agencies are working to figure out how to give them a little help. For reasons not fully understood, honeybee colonies are collapsing, and agricultural enterprises could be negatively affected.

Monarch butterfly populations are declining sharply, endangering one of North America’s most wondrous migrations.

Bats also pollinate flowering plants and spread their seeds, but habitat loss and a fungal disease are diminishing their populations in North America.

After months of study, U.S. agencies are recomending new actions on public lands to offer habitats that will help pollinators thrive:

• Protect and restore wildflower-rich habitats.

• Provide locations for pollinators’ hives and nests.

• Provide desirable plants for butterflies.

• Provide winter refuge for other insects.

In a White House blog post, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology John Holdren urged private landholders and individual homeowners to create pollinator habitats, suggesting actions such as:

• Planting a pollinator garden or leaving natural habitat undisturbed.

• Applying pesticides with caution and care.

• Learning more about the pollinator species in your area.

Three-fourths of flowering plants and about 35 percent of the world’s food crops depend on animal pollinators to reproduce, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Some scientists estimate that one-third of what we eat exists because of the work done by birds and bats, and by bees, butterflies and other insects.

Find a way to help a pollinator, so they’ll keep helping us produce the crops of the future.