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Urban beekeeping
鄉(xiāng)村飼蜜
Honey monsters
蜜怪
City dwellers cultivate a taste of the country
城市居民培養(yǎng)出鄉(xiāng)村嗜好
A new kind of pinstripe
新型細條紋
WHEN Camilla Goddard first started to keep bees in London, it was difficult to find places away from anxious neighbours or teenage vandals. Nine years later she has hives all over the city: in parks, churchyards, primary schools and on the roofs of hotels. She collects swarms from people's attics and sells honey at her local shop. A hobby has become a thriving business.
起初，卡米拉.高達（Camilla Goddard）著手在倫敦飼養(yǎng)蜜蜂時，很難找到合適的駐點，因為附近要么是頗有戒備心理的鄰居，要么就是淘氣愛搞破壞的青少年。如今九年過去了，而她的蜂箱已經(jīng)遍布整個城市：公園里、教堂里、小學(xué)校園里及旅館屋頂上都隨處可見。她通過收集隱匿在居民閣樓中的蜂巢，然后在自家經(jīng)營的小超市中出售蜂蜜。而現(xiàn)在，這已儼然成為一種新興商業(yè)模式。
Apiculture is fashionable. Since 2008 membership of the British Beekeepers Association (BBKA) has almost doubled, to 24,000 people. Around 1,500 are in London. Courses in the capital are always buzzing, says Angela Woods, an enthusiast. Despite the stereotype of beekeepers as luxuriantly bearded eccentrics, many newbies are young—women are particularly keen.The boom was partly a by-product of worries about bees and awareness of the huge benefits they bring. Colonies in many countries have been suffering mysterious sudden collapses since 2006. Urban eco-warriors found beekeeping an appealing practical outlet for their angst. Businesses, keen for green plaudits, also leapt on the trend. Fortnum & Mason, London's poshest department store, has hives on its roof (this newspaper, a neighbour, does not—yet).
眼下，養(yǎng)蜂業(yè)十分火熱。2008年至今，英國養(yǎng)蜂協(xié)會（BBKA）會員已增加一倍，達到24000人。且有1500會員來自倫敦。安吉拉.伍茲（Angela Woods）是蜜蜂愛好者，他曾調(diào)侃道：首都的大道常常嗡嗡作響。盡管人們對傳統(tǒng)養(yǎng)蜂人的印象還停留在是滿臉胡子的怪大叔上，許多，但實際上許多新會員都是年輕一代，且女性尤為鐘情。養(yǎng)蜂潮的興起，在某種程度上正是由人們對蜜蜂的擔憂和意識到蜜蜂巨大經(jīng)濟利益的雙重作用下而促成的。自2006年起，英聯(lián)邦國家一直受莫名的坍塌事故所困擾。城市生態(tài)衛(wèi)士發(fā)現(xiàn)，養(yǎng)蜂恰是解決當下困擾的好對策，且可行性強。商業(yè)界渴望得到世界對其綠色行為的褒獎，同樣也抓住時下潮流。倫敦頂級百貨商店——福特納姆和梅森，就在屋頂設(shè)有蜂巢（但它的鄰居，報社集團卻未如此）
Hives fit snugly in London gardens and bees seem to like city life. In the concrete jungle pesticides are rare. Nectar surprisingly abounds, and not just in gardens: parks have waterlilies and other exotic plants. Brambles and wild flowers line railway tracks. Chestnut trees give honey from Greenwich a heavy, nutty taste; bees that feed on rose bushes in Regent's Park produce an almost inedibly aromatic gloop.
蜂巢舒適地安于倫敦花園，蜜蜂似乎很享受城市生活。在鋼筋叢林中，極少會出現(xiàn)昆蟲。但蜂蜜卻出奇得多，不但是花園中有，其它地方也有：公園植有睡蓮和其它奇花異草。荊棘與野花鋪滿鐵軌外延。因為板栗樹，格林威治產(chǎn)的蜂蜜更濃稠，并帶著絲絲堅果味兒；而在攝政公園，以采玫瑰為主的蜜蜂卻產(chǎn)出不宜使用的芳香漿糖。
London is not yet flowing with honey. Membership growth has slowed at the BBKA. The cost of hives has risen. Green types are planting bee-friendly gardens instead of hosting apiaries of their own. And the harsh winter of 2012, which killed around a third of all the colonies in Britain, has put some beginners off. Busy Londoners want to connect with nature, says Ms Woods. But without the sting of disappointment.
倫敦現(xiàn)在還沒到蜂蜜泛濫的程度。養(yǎng)蜂協(xié)會新入會員增速也已有所下降。筑巢成本上升。綠色一族如今選擇建造利于蜜蜂的花園，而非建設(shè)私人養(yǎng)蜂廠。2012的嚴冬導(dǎo)致英聯(lián)邦近1/3的蜂巢毀于一旦，這讓一些新手望而卻步了。伍茲夫人說，繁忙的倫敦人想與自然親近。繁忙的倫敦人希望與大自然親近，但可不希望被蜇的滿頭包而掃興而歸。譯者：徐珍 校對：朱大素
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