I got curious enough to go look at a discussion group. Here is what they are saying on
http://listserv.albany.edu:8080/cgi-bin/wa
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Hello All,
The problem with the current CCD research is getting to the problem.
Mixed in with possibly a NEW problem ( or not) is:
The normal losses of these beekeepers from the usual causes:
Up to 35% for many migratory beekeepers and 50% does not cause alarm in
those which only winter their best stock but then that was before the gold
rush to California almonds.
Then toss in another 10-15% for drought related problems last fall.
Then toss in problems last fall related to lack of fall pollen (drought
related in Midwest). Not raising winter bees.
Then consider the high number of beekeepers which claim they had super high
queen loss last fall after using apiguard. Once queenless the bees drifted
to other hives ( even leaving brood) creating the CCD look.
How many were fed off spec HFCS?
Then consider the accepted queen loss when bees are moved is 10% ( perhaps
up to 20% if stressed).
Then consider some African genetics is in many commercial operations. Would
not the AHB genetics increase absconding causing the disappearing part.
Ok now how many hives are now effected with this new problem?
Note I did not speak to varroa & tracheal mites above. All the CCD symptoms
are common to hives over varroa threshold and crashing.
If varroa is the problem
( one of the commercial beekeepers involved said it could not be a varroa
issue as he treated his hives with peppermint oil soaked shop towels------
Hmmm)
then we are back to the PMS virus issue.
Control the varroa and you control the virus.
also:
If a huge amount of virus contamination is on the comb then the next swarm
will crash earlier than the normal four months of intense brood rearing.
A few thoughts.
Sincerely,
Bob Harrison
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Maybe beekeepers should stop considering 50% losses normal. I'm an old cow
man, 50% losses would have been unacceptable. Back in the old days before
mites, hauling hives all over the country, 50% mortality would have been
considered rather severe.
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Reply to comment:
"Austrialia's Disappearing Disorder for example is a brood disease, and the adult bees are fine"
It is not a disease as has been shown by the research and I usually refer to it as "muck".
I have written on this on Bee-L before but obviously it has not been understood. It
affects brood but is not transferable from hive to hive. This has been shown when an
affected frame is taken from one hive and put in another hive the new hive does not get the muck.
In my opinion, and I have had it in my hives, it is a heavy metal poisoning caused by the ability
of the plant to absorb these heavy metals when the soil ph drops to very acid. The bees collect
it in the nectar and pollen and it affects their digestive ability. It occurs on acid soils.
If a hive is showing symptoms, which are very similar to EFB, and you shift it onto better quality
soil, then the symptoms disappear with a day or so. If we get rain and the ph of the soil becomes
not as acid then it again disappears.
Tim says it does not affect adult bees. This is incorrect as you can have a thriving triple
hive and within a few days it is down to a nuc size. The adult bees disappear, hence that
part of the name. A hive can recover from the muck if shifted off the acid soil or it rains.
It normally occurs in spring from September to November, sometimes into December.
The only treatment is to not work the areas of acid soils in that time period. Simple.
Trevor Weatherhead
AUSTRALIA
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From: Jerry Bromenshenk
Subject: Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
Good Morning
Yesterday, a group of us formalized a working group and named the current
bee loss syndrome being seen in the U.S. As of this time, I have reports that
major losses have been seen in the U.S., starting in the spring in places
like Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa. Its still ongoing in Florida, with major
losses occurring in Oklahoma, and a number of reports from California over the
last few days.
We are no longer calling this Fall Dwindle Disease -- its not a fall
phenomenon when looked at across the nation, its a rapid collapse (often in less
than 2-3 weeks), and it may or may not be a disease in the strictest sense. So,
we're terming it Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).
We, a group of researchers, extension agents, and regulatory officials have
formed a group to investigate this problem and will call ourselves the CCD
Working Group. This group represents a diverse number of institutions
including Bee Alert Technology, Inc. (a bee technology transfer company affiliated
with the University of Montana), The Pennsylvania State University, the
USDA/ARS, the Florida Department of Agriculture, and the Pennsylvania Department
of Agriculture. We're planning on adding Eric Mussen to the group to
represent California.
CCD Symptoms
Based on initial visits to affected beeyards, the CCD drew up a list of the
following symptoms, typical of the disorder:
1) In collapsed coloniea,
a. The complete absence of adult bees in colonies, with no or little
build up of dead bees in the colonies or in front of those colonies.
b. The presence of capped brood in colonies,
c. The presence of food stores, both honey and bee bread
i. which is not robbed by other bees, and
ii. when attacked by hive pests such as wax moth and small hive beetle,
the attack is noticeably delayed (days, weeks)
2) In cases where the colony appear to be actively collapsing
a. An insufficient workforce to maintain the brood that is present
b. The workforce seems to be made up of young adult bees
c. The queen is present
d. The cluster is reluctant to consume provided feed, such as sugar
syrup and protein supplement
Initial results from the online survey (_www.beesurvey.com_
(http://www.beesurvey.com) ) has revealed that beekeepers think that this started at least 1-2
years ago, in its present form. As this list has mentioned, similar
syndromes have been reported in the U.S., dating back to 1896. It certainly looks
identical to the disorder reported by Oertel in 1965 (from bee losses in
63-64).
Finally, if you've experienced this, please fill out the survey - regardless
of how convinced you are that you know what caused it in your bees. Too
many factors, too few returns to sort this out without the help of the nation's
beekeepers.
Thanks
Jerry
P.S. We'd like to hear from beekeepers who HAVE not ever had this problem
-- where are your bees, what are you doing different? So, again, fill out the
survey, just be sure we know that your bees haven't had the disorder.
-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l for rules, FAQ and other info ---
---------------------------------
As has already been said, this "phenomenon" (if indeed it is one and not an
arbitrary variety of adverse reactions) cannot be labelled as yet with any
one cause. There is not enough data available at the moment to crystalise
out responsible factors. Whilst bee losses, especially winter losses are
nothing new to beekeeping, the apparent increase in high levels of loss in
North America and in Europe especially over the past few years indicates a
common growing situation affecting our bees internationally. If, and I do
say if, this is true, the factors affecting colony collapse disorder may
differ from country to country; it's not possible to incontrovertibly link
colony death in say, Poland with Spain and the USA. The only common factor
known so far is that many bee colonies have died. Thorough examination and
analysis of affected colonies is needed. As more information becomes
available in the form of feedback from beekeepers in all regions, then it
may be more likely that the people assimilating the data, for whom I have
great regard, will be able to determine the most probable causes.
It's not easy getting information, asking people to fill in forms detailing
what they did, when they did it and why. What were the conditions like at
the time? - not everyone remembers or keeps a log book. Some don't want to
give out information they regard as "personal". But unless relevant
information can be reliably gathered - and a lot of it - we are going to
have conjecture and everyone's pet theories for years to come and bees may
continue to die off.
Organised groups investigating these bee deaths are taking shape in Europe
and in North America and they deserve the help and broad support of
beekeepers everywhere in finding a solution to this problem.
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In the February issue of Bee Culture, Malcolm Sanford has an
excellent article ("A New Nosema" "The symptoms are similar to other
conditions described as 'Autumn collapse,' 'Spring dwindling,'
'disappearing trick" (Australia), 'mal de mayo' in some
Spanish-speaking countries, and 'May disease' in France.").
Unfortunately, personally I haven't seen any common thread between the losses.
My own, and smaller beekeepers I've talked to (5-100 hives), mostly don't do the
things the migratory beekeepers interviewed by USDA/ARS in their preliminary report.
Many have newer comb, didn't feed HFCS, didn't treat (and some never have) with
coumpaphos or fluvalinate, don't move their hives (stress), etc.
-Tim
