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Understanding the problem - What is Colony Collapse Disorder and what is it doing?

During the winter of 2006, beekeepers in the United States became alarmed that honey bee colonies were dying in large numbers, with reported losses of 30 to 90 percent in some beekeeping operations. While many of the colonies lost during this time period exhibited symptoms consistent with those typically observed when under attack by parasitic mites, as many as 50 percent of all colonies were reportedly lost, demonstrating symptoms inconsistent with mite damage, or any other known causes of death. This suggested that increased stress or a new, unidentified agent could potentially be responsible.

This unexplained cause of death has been given the name “Colony Collapse Disorder,” or CCD. Subsequent investigations suggested that these outbreaks of unexplained colony collapse have been occurring for at least two years.

Symptoms of CCD include: (i) sudden loss of the colony’s adult bee population with very few bees found near the dead colonies; (ii) several frames with healthy, capped brood with low levels of parasitic mites, indicating that colonies were relatively strong shortly before the loss of adult bees and that the losses cannot be attributed to a recent infestation of mites; (iii) food reserves that have not been robbed, despite active colonies in the same area, suggesting avoidance of the dead colony by other bees; (iv) minimal evidence of wax moth or small hive beetle damage; and (v) a laying queen often present with a small cluster of newly emerged attendants.

Many affected beekeepers indicated that their colonies were under some form of stress at least two months before the first incidence of CCD. Stresses could include poor nutrition (due to apiary overcrowding, pollination of crops with low nutritional value, or pollen or nectar dearth), limited or contaminated water supplies, exposure to pesticides, or high levels of varroa mites. Case studies of beekeeping operations suggested the possible involvement of a pathogen or toxin in CCD. Some beekeepers losing colonies to CCD placed the abandoned “dead out” hive boxes on top of boxes containing strong colonies. These strong colonies also then suffered CCD.

Why is the drastic decline of bee population important?

Bee pollination is responsible for $15 billion in added crop value, particularly for specialty crops such as almonds and other nuts, berries, fruits, and vegetables. About one mouthful in three in the diet directly or indirectly benefits from honey bee pollination. While there are native pollinators (honey bees came from the Old World with European colonists), honey bees are more prolific and the easiest to manage for the large scale pollination that U.S. agriculture requires. In California, the almond crop alone uses 1.3 million colonies of bees, approximately one half of all honey bees in the United States, and this need is projected to grow to 1.5 million colonies by 2010.

The number of managed honey bee colonies has dropped from 5 million in the1940s to only 2.5 million today. At the same time, the call for hives to supply pollination service has continued to climb. This means honey bee colonies are trucked farther and more often than ever before.

Honey bee colony health has also been declining since the 1980s with the advent of new pathogens and pests. The spread into the United States of varroa and tracheal mites, in particular, created major new stresses on honey bees.

Are there any theories about what may be causing CCD?

Case studies and questionnaires related to management practices and environmental factors have identified a few common factors shared by those beekeepers experiencing CCD, but no common environmental agents or chemicals stand out as causative. There are three major possibilities that are being looked into by researchers.

> Pesticides may be having unexpected negative effects on honey bees.

> A new parasite or pathogen may be attacking honey bees. One possible candidate being looked at is a pathogenic gut microbe called Nosema. Viruses are also suspected.

> A perfect storm of existing stresses may have unexpectedly weakened colonies leading to collapse. Stress, in general, compromises the immune system of bees (and other social insects) and may disrupt their social system, making colonies more susceptible to disease.

These stresses could include high levels of infection by the varroa mite (a parasite that feeds on bee blood and transmits bee viruses); poor nutrition due to apiary overcrowding, pollination of crops with low nutritional value, or pollen or nectar scarcity; and exposure to limited or contaminated water supplies. Migratory stress brought about by increased needs for pollination might also be a contributing factor.

What should beekeepers do now about CCD?

Since little is known about the cause(s) of CCD right now, mitigation must be based on improving general honey bee health and habitat and countering known mortality factors by using best management practices.

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Contributing Source: USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture)

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