Colony Collapse Disorder Why Are Honey Bees Disappearing?
Through the years, U.S. beekeepers have faced obstacles to
healthy bee management. Now a new problem—colony collapse
disorder (CCD)—threatens honey bees. Beekeepers have reported
higher than normal colony losses since 2006. These high losses
have been called colony collapse disorder. Bee colonies affected
by CCD can appear healthy, but then the adult bees disappear
from the colonies. The Mid-Atlantic Apiculture Research and
Extension Consortium (MAAREC) is the current clearing house for
CCD-based information produced by the CCD Working Group, which
has defined the symptoms of CCD colonies as follows: - Contain
no adult bees, with few to no dead bees around the colony -
Contain capped brood - Contain food stores that are not robbed
by neighboring bees or colony pests - Do not have enough bees to
maintain colony brood - Have a workforce workforce that consists
of younger adult bees - Contain a queen - Are reluctant to eat
food provided by the beekeeper C