英國幾大院校素來風景美如畫 如今卻蟲滿爲患

The lawns of Cambridge University are being torn apart by crows feasting on bugs after an EU ban on a pesticide.

在歐盟對殺蟲劑下達禁令之後，劍橋大學的草坪便遭受着以臭蟲爲食的烏鴉的毀壞。

Lawns at seven colleges have been blighted by birds digging up ground in search of the chafer bug, a beetle that lives in soil and feeds on grass roots.

其中七所學院的草坪已被鳥類催殘，它們在地面上翻土，尋找金龜子——一種生活在泥土當中以草根爲食的甲殼蟲。

The population has soared since an EU-wide ban on a spray containing a chemical called imidacloprid.

自從歐盟全體成員國對含有吡蟲啉這種化學物質的噴霧劑下達禁令之後，金龜子的數量就開始急劇上升。

The problem is so severe at two colleges, Jesus and Pembroke, that the lawn is being replaced.

該問題在耶穌學院和彭布羅克學院顯得尤爲嚴重，它們的草坪正在被蟲鳥所取代。

Gardeners have introduced nematodes, microscopic worms that eat chafer grubs in a bid to combat the problem but the method is not proving entirely successful.

園丁們已經引入了線蟲——一種以金龜子爲食的微型蠕蟲——試圖解決這個問題，但是該方法的效果並不顯著。

A post on the Jesus College Facebook page said: 'The situation has become quite severe over the last two to three weeks and large areas of lawn have suffered as a result, First Court in particular. The use of nematodes has proved unreliable.'

耶穌學院在臉書上的一條帖子說道：“在過去兩、三個禮拜，情況變得十分嚴重，大片草坪遭殃，尤其是第一庭院內的。事實證明，使用線蟲並不可靠。”

Paul Gallant, head gardener of Selwyn College, said the damage is worse at some colleges than others because the grubs only thrive in some types of soil.

塞爾溫學院的園長保羅·加倫特表示，各學院草坪的損害程度不一，因爲幼蟲僅在某些類型的土壤內繁殖。

He said: 'The grubs like light sandy soil like the soil at Selwyn. Wolfson and Robinson don't have the problem because they're on clay.'

他說道：“幼蟲喜歡像塞爾溫學院那樣的細砂土。沃爾森學院和羅賓遜學院就沒有碰上這類麻煩，因爲它們都是黏土。”