Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD): An Update
Bee Culture (May 2007) Vol. 135 (5): 17-19.
By
Dr. Malcolm T. Sanford
Subsequent to the CCD
workshop held in
According to its March 12,
2007 Legislative Update, the ABF, urges beekeepers to check colonies, feed and
evaluate locations more often in an effort to stave off the disorder. In addition, there may be some disaster
relief available in the future, so beekeepers should ensure that any losses are
well documented. There also may be some
research funding from this initative. New documents at the Mid Atlantic Apiculture
Research and Extension Consortium5 include the following advice:
“1. DO NOT combine
collapsing colonies with strong colonies.
Why? We do not currently know
the cause of CCD. If an infectious agent causes it and you combine a collapsing
colony with a healthy colony, the healthy bees may succumb to the illness and
you may lose both colonies.
“2. When a collapsed colony
is found, store the equipment where you can use preventative measures to ensure
that bees will not have access to it. Put the equipment in this storage area
within TWO WEEKS of collapse to prevent robbing by neighboring colonies. CCD
colonies tend not to be robbed out by colonies immediately after collapse. When
you take this equipment out for reuse, wear a protective face mask to prevent
the inhalation of any mold spores that may grow on the comb.
Why? The CCD team is
currently investigating various sterilization techniques that allow for comb
reuse. We are hopeful that we will soon have a sterilization technique in place
to treat equipment before it is reused. We DO NOT recommend burning infected
equipment at this time. Keep it in storage (with
necessary wax moth and SHB precautions) for the time being.
“3. If you feed your bees sugar syrup, use Fumagillan.
Why? At this time the CCD
working group does not believe that nosema disease is
the underlying cause of CCD. However, infection with nosema
is a stressor that can reduce the bees’ tolerance to other disease agents.
Treating for nosema helps reduce colony stress.
“4. If you are experiencing
colony collapse and see a secondary infection, such as European Foulbrood,
treat the colonies with Terramycin, NOT TYLAN.
Why? The effectiveness of Terramycin has been well documented, while Tylan has not been tested as an EFB control agent. We know
that Terramycin works for the treatment of EFB.
“5. If you observe high
levels of varroa mites, treat them
using soft chemicals, such as Apiguard, Apilife VAR, or MiteAway II. We
DO NOT recommend the use of oxalic acid, or home made hard chemical mixtures.
Why? Colonies experiencing
CCD have been shown to have kidney (Malpighian
tubule) problems similar to those seen in colonies treated with hard chemicals.
There are some reports that Oxalic acid may damage bee Malpighian
tubules. Also the harder chemicals (fluvalinate, coumaphos, and amitraz) may have
a sub lethal affect on bees which may add additional stress on the bees. By
treating for varroa mites with soft chemicals, you
are helping to keep the colonies mite population low while avoiding the
potentially negative effects of hard chemicals.
Finally, these
recommendations will probably change as understanding of this disorder evolves.”
All researchers on colony
collapse disorder advise beekeepers to complete the survey
devoted to this phenomenon.6.
This information will be valuable and treated confidentially. Every beekeeper should participate whether or
not they believe their colonies are affected.
David Hackenberg,
one of the first people to lose hives to the CCD phenomenon, has sent a letter
to all his pollination customers making some of the following points:
“First, some people referred
to this as ‘disappearing disease’ because the bees literally disappeared. The second symptom is that bees left behind
frames of brood (young baby bees) and boxes filled with honey that no other
bees came in and robbed out as normally happens. The third symptom is that the small hive
beetle and wax moth would not move into the hive for at least 3 weeks as if
something toxic was in the hive. When
you place a dead CCD hive on top of a live hive nearby you kill the hive
below. This makes us think that there
must be something toxic in the hive from CCD. But when aired out for several weeks the toxicity
levels seem to go away. The last symptom
is that the dead bees always seem to have a fungus found in the bee’s mid-gut
and sometimes through their entire body.
“Preliminary work has
identified several likely factors that could be causing or contributing to CCD.
Among them are mites associated diseases
and viruses, some unknown pathogenic disease and pesticide contamination or
poisoning. I have been in CCD group discussions
from the beginning. I have had detailed
talks with affected beekeepers, researchers, bee inspectors, growers, farmers,
seed company representatives and anybody that might be able to contribute any
useful information. The picture that has
emerged so far has many people in this industry extremely concerned.
“Beekeepers that have been
most affected so far have been close to corn, cotton, soybeans, canola,
sunflowers, apples, vine crops and pumpkins.
In conversation with farmers, growers and seed and spray company
representatives we have learned that there has been a big change in pesticides
used to treat these crops. From what I
have learned so far, I am convinced that neonicotinoids
may play a role in CCD and exposure to these materials is something that is
under our control. From research on the
internet I have learned that neonicotinoids are systemic
insecticides used to control sucking insects on plants, everything from corn,
tree crops, most vegetables, cranberries, blueberries, strawberries, cotton,
canola, ornamentals, forestry and turf.
“I think that the reason neonicotinoids may be so damaging to honeybees is that they
are found in fairly low “sublethal” levels in the pollen
and nectar of the plants. The field bees
often do not die when working on plants treated with these products. Instead they may bring the pollen and nectar
back to the hive and store it in their comb to use later. The young bees raised on this (contaminated) food
may exhibit memory loss and impaired immune response. Of course, these symptoms appear several
months after exposure to neonicotinoids and up until
recently the cause of effect appeared unrelated.”
Mr. Hackenberg
concludes his letter with a plea to growers to use something beside the
following products this season: imidacloprid7 (brand names: Confirdor, Merit, Admire, Legend, Provado,
Encore, Gaucho, Premise); thiamoxetham (Actara, Platinum, Helix, Cruiser, Adage,
Because so little is known at
the present time about CCD, skeptics remain.
Some call this nothing more than the inevitable consequence of
beekeepers pushing their colonies to the point of collapse, exacerbated by their
own pesticide use (organophosphates particularly) inside colonies for Varroa control and malnutrition while on pollination
contracts. Others suggest that so-called
“disappearing disease” has been with us for many years in a variety of forms,
and that this is nothing more than the consequence of inadequate mite control.
In the latter case, Dr. Bromenshenk, one of the prime investigators of CCD, stated
in a response:8 “Please be careful of sweeping generalizations. There are beekeepers who have experienced CCD
and who have also had problems controlling mites. We've also seen tracheal mites in high levels
in recovering hives (but these mites were not in the same hives before
collapse). We've seen CCD in operations
with no evidence of mite problems.
“I just saw a new collapse in CA where aggressive mite
treatments were used in the fall, repeated in Jan when a few mites were
found. Colonies were strong, wall to
wall bees, 4-5 frames of brood, no evidence of mites (two weeks ago). Yesterday, out of 400, only 30 were strong
enough to shake bees from, and the majority had collapsed down to 3-4 frames or
less of bees, with lots of brood, 40 lbs honey, and frames of fresh pollen.
“Finally, most of the CCD work is still unfunded -- we
all have to prioritize which samples we're going to take, analyze - just don't
have the funds to check every sample offered -- and at this point, we're not
short of operations from which to obtain samples, so we're trying to take
samples in ways that
will allow us to make comparisons within
a beeyard or operation, and among yards and bee
operations.”
One observer remarked on the
Bee-L list that there seems to be a remarkable similarity between the symptoms of
CCD and those of "Marie Celeste Syndrome" in the UK.9 He referenced an interesting and
comprehensive set of minutes of the annual meeting of the Department of
Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) with beekeeping organizations dated 9 December 2005.10 This is a must read for anyone
comparing the European and U.S. beekeeping situations.
In that document, a Mr Craig
reported that beekeepers in
This brings us to the Melksham Beekeepers publication known as Beelines and “Chuckle With Chad.” His response in part to the Marie Celeste Syndrome is: “I feel that, yet again, I need to give a new personal perspective on an old theme, that of Mary Celeste Syndrome. For the beginners, the characteristics of this syndrome are startling; seemingly healthy colonies of bees will disappear over night, leaving no trace or clue as to their disappearance. Scientists' heads are being scratched all over the country as theories of varroosis or environmental factors affecting queens' fertility are expounded.
“The problem is, of course, that the majority of
beekeepers are too well-meaning, straight laced and altogether too wholesome
for their own good. One needs only look
at the strong tradition of beekeeping in the clergy, to realise
that the majority of beekeepers are a decent bunch. However, Reverend Digges
would have had a truly different outlook on life if he'd grown up on a housing
estate in the suburbs of
“Let me shout it loud so that you hear me, Mate, your
bees have been nicked! Closer scrutiny
of data will show that Mary Celeste Syndrome has never been reported in hives
that are inaccessible to the public. I bet you the bees in my bedroom
observation hive won't suddenly vanish, 'without a trace.' The thing is, of course, that the venerable
Rev. Digges could not have entertained the thought
that his neighbour might be so brazen as to break the
Eighth Commandment. But, as I say, the
beekeeping community must drag itself into the modern mind set; there are
baddies out there.”11
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