Colony collapse disorder (CCD) describes the phenomenon where the majority of worker bees in a colony disappear, leaving the queen alone with a few nurse bees. CCD was first discovered in 1869 and given different names over time. A collapsed colony from CCD is characterized by the presence of capped brood, food, and the queen bee, but absence of most worker bees. Reports of disappearing honey-producing hives have decreased their numbers in the United States significantly since the 1940s. The exact causes of CCD are unknown but may include pesticides, mites, fungi, beekeeping practices, and commercial bee transport, acting together rather than individually.

2. Index:
What is the CCD?
The history
Signs & symptoms
Scope & distribution
Possible causes

3. What is the CCD?
It is the phenomenon that occurs when the majority of worker
bees in a colony disappear. They leave the queen alone with
plenty of food and a few nurse bees to take care of it and look
after it. This phenomenon was named like that in late 2006.

4. The history
The CCD has been discovered in 1869, and this set of
symptoms has been given different names: disappearing
disease, spring dwindle, autumn collapse… The last CCD in
Europe happened in winter of 2004/2005. Later, in November of
2006, another one happened in Florida, USA. The looses of
bees in Colony Collapse Disorders had remained stable since
the 1990s at 17%-20%.

5. Signs and symptoms
In collapsed colonies, CCD occur when there are lots of adult
bees inside one colony. A colony, collapsed from CCD, is
normally characterized by all of these conditions that occur
simultaneously:
• The presence of capped brood.
• The presence of food, both honey and bee pollen.
• The presence of the queen bee.

6. Scope and distribution
The National Agriculture Statistics Service reported that 2.44
million honey-producing hives were in the United States in
February 2008, down from 4.5 million in 1980 and 5.9 million in
1947. This means that, through the time, it has decreased a lot
the production of honey.

7. Possible causes
The mechanisms of CCD are still unknown, but many
causes are currently being considered, such as
pesticides, mites, fungi, beekeeping practices… The
current scientific consensus is that no single factor is
causing CCD, but that some of these factors in
combination may led to CCD. Most beekeepers
afirmed that bees were disappearing also because of
commerce.

8. Links
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_collapse_disorder
https://www.epa.gov/pollinator-protection/colony-collapse-disorder
http://npic.orst.edu/envir/ccd.html

9. THE END!