# Colony Collapse Disorder.



## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

*May 8, 2008 at 2:40PM*

Dr. Eric Mussen, from the University Of California, Davis, is one of the researchers involved with figuring out the cause or causes of Colony Collapse Disorder. Heâs been quoted extensively because he is the only bee guy in California, if you can believe that. His experience with commercial beekeepers, commercial queen and package producers and commercial fruit and vegetable growers is unequaled in the U.S., a fact his peers recently acknowledged with the presentation of two awards: He was awarded the title Beekeeper of the Year by the California State Beekeepers Association, the largest such group in the U.S., and he was selected the Extension Entomologist of the Year, by the Pacific Branch of Ent. Society Of America. Besides being well respected, heâs a heck of a nice guy.

In his most recent newsletter he talks about one of the mysteries of Colony Collapse Disorder he has heard about ... here are his comments:


âOn three separate occasions I have heard observations of the 'spread' of CCD through apiaries. The first was a San Joaquin Valley (CA) beekeeper who told me that he sees the disease sweep from west to east, through his apiaries, at the end of summer. The second was a report, through Jerry Bromenshenk, that a beekeeper attempting to produce organic honey in Montana has 600 colonies spread around an area far from anything and anybody. A visiting beekeeper places an apiary near the center of that beekeeping area and stays only long enough to take advantage of the honey flow, then leaves. After the visiting hives are gone, CCD starts in the apiaries nearest where the visitor was located and spreads out from the center to the more peripheral locations.

"Another similar observation was sent to by e-mail. In this recent email Dr. Bromenshenk again is describing what happens in an apiary as CCD progresses. Among all the other symptoms, this sentence caught my eye: 'In large holding yards, CCD starts at one end and rolls through to the other end like a wave.'

Of all the things that may be involved in driving colonies toward colony collapse, the best one that would fit this 'disorder spread' criteria would be a pathogen causing an epidemic. Pesticides, malnutrition, toxic food, etc. are not likely to affect the colonies in a 'sweeping' or 'rolling' fashion. That sounds like a contagion moving through the colonies by drifting bees. Remember, also, that when losses start occurring, that is not when the contagion is sweeping through. That happened weeks earlier, when all the bees looked healthy.

There are studies being conducted, right now, in which colony samples of bees, brood, and food are being taken from hives every so often and held for future analysis as soon as the monitored colonies start to show signs of CCD. I hope that a specific change is noted, and not just a multitude of changes that lead to the mess that we find at the end of the process.â

Dr. Mussenâs reports, along with Dr. Bromenshenkâs, have been made, as they say, out of pocket, since funding for both researchers is stretched thin. Some money has been made available to researchers lately though ...

The state of Pennsylvania donated an additional $20,000 to local researchers there, and, in a generous gesture, Joe Traynor, who owns Scientific Ag Co. a pollination brokerage firm in Bakersfield, CA has worked out a deal with the beekeepers he brokers colonies from and the growers he brokers them to, to have each donate a $1.00 for each colony they handle, and made it available to Project Apism, a non-profit granting agency affiliated with both the almond and beekeeping industries for honey bee research. If you are interested, see what they do at www.projectapism.org.

One year from this blog the USDA still had not given any money to the study/research.

*January 18, 2011 at 1:30PM *

After four years of intense study, research, sampling, and just plain guessing, scientists have made more discoveries in the last year than all the honey bee research in the last 25 years put together. Still, Colony Collapse Disorder is still mostly a mystery. What they have found, though, is helping honey bees and beekeepers. Here's a look:



Poor nutrition.
Honey bees forced to dine on only a single source of pollen have problems. Imagine living for a month on only Twinkies. The first one is great, the second good... the 123rd is disgusting, and, you are slowly starving to death. When researchers looked closely at the diet for our honey bees, they saw the problem and todayn - after four years â there are almost a dozen healthy food choices on the market we can feed our bees (including Megabee and Nozeivit, sold by Dadant; Ultra-Bee, sold by Mann Lake; and Feed Bee, sold by Ellingsonsâs Inc.) That's progress. (But look at your grocery store and see how many kinds of dog food there are... wouldn't you think hard working honey bees should have the same choices?). 



Old pests revisited.
A common problem with honey bees now is that old pest called Nosema. Simply put, this one-celled parasite damages the stomach of a bee, shortening its lifespan, and the damage allows some of these other pests entry into the bee itself. It's like having a bad cut, then having it get infected. It's a no-win for the bees.

New pests.
Several new viruses (including an insect iridescent virus we nicknamed Ivy) and a couple of diseases were found. By themselves, though, none seem to be causing terrible problems. But now, after four years, we have identified these nasties and know what to look for... and maybe even what they do when combined with other problems.

The worst pest.
But after 25 years we still haven't found a good way to control Varroa mites. Scientists have discovered that these mites are even worse than we thought. When bees are attacked by these mites their immune systems shut down and the bees can't handle other pests and diseases. So the mite does its own damage and then makes it easier for other pests to do even more damage. 



Systemic pesticides.
Incredibly small amounts of new pesticides â notably, Bayer's clothianidan, one of its neonicotinoid pesticides â are showing up in honey bee food fed to young bees. These sublethal amounts seem to be much more lethal for young bees than old bees, but it was the old bees that these chemicals were tested on. When only old bees are tested and they seem unaffected the pesticide is claimed to be safe to use. Maybe not.



Fungicides.
Until now considered safe to use around bees, these agrochemicals have been used for years without apparent problems. When honey bees are exposed to new formulations, many with the active ingredient prochloraz, however, it tends to harm the digestive flora bees (and us) use to help digest food. No digestion, and bees starve. That's a problem.



All Together. Now.
By themselves, none o these issues is fatal to honey bees or their young. But more and more evidence is piling up that when bees are exposed to three or four of these at the same time, an individual bee is essentially overwhelmed. But rather than all die at once, they simply live shorter lives. Shorten the life of a typical honey bee by 5 or 6 days (out of a possible 45 or so in the summer), and you destroy the complex society of the colony, and soon, there are no bees to carry on the work. 

Colony Collapse Disorder is, it seems, simply a symptom of too much of all of these in some combination. The researchers haven't found the complete answer yet... which virus, disease, chemical and immune system assault is the most lethal, but they are closer to the answer, and more importantly, have better advice for beekeepers on how to avoid these problems. 



*How Beekeepers Can Help

Make sure bees have a diverse and varied diet. Many floral sources are needed for a healthy, wholesome, season-long diet. And make sure those flowers have not been sprayed with the new insecticides and fungicides that are so detrimental to the young. And feeding bees is a good idea. Use one of the newer substitute diets available from the supply companies and feed whenever there's a food shortage or lack of variety. It will only help.

Make sure you control Varroa mites in your hives, keeping the populations as low as possible all year long. Use bees resistant to mites as much as possible. Trap mites using drone brood and screened bottom boards, and if treatment is necessary, use the safe organic acids or essential oils. 

To keep stresses as low as possible in your hives, keep your colonies in full sun, all day long. This reduces mite populations and even small hive beetle infestations a great deal. And, winter your bees with more than enough stored food, with good wind and cold protection to help them through this tough time.
*

 Al


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## k9 (Feb 6, 2008)

Thanks Al.


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## Briarhill (Dec 30, 2011)

Very interesting article... I guess that rules out aliens stealing our bees.


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## BackInCountry (Jan 9, 2011)

I see a similarity between CCD and the humance race. Poor diets, global warming, this and that. Make me wonder a little bit.


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## tom j (Apr 3, 2009)

now they say a fly that lay;s eggs on the girls might have something to do with ccd


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

I my self am not going to buy into the fly thing. When CCD was first discovered the onset of research came up with just one thing all the bee keepers *who experinced it had in common was they all were migutory bee keepers.*
That research has held true for a couple of years now.
I am putting my money on what has been proven so far.

Poor nutrition & stress.
Old pests revisited.
New pests.
Fungicides.
Systemic pesticides.
And puting them altogether.

 al


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