Colony collapse disorder (
CCD) is the phenomenon that occurs when the majority of
worker bees in a colony disappear and leave behind a
queen, plenty of food and a few nurse bees to care for the remaining immature bees and the queen. While such disappearances have occurred throughout the history of
apiculture, and were known by various names (disappearing disease, spring dwindle, May disease, autumn collapse, and fall dwindle disease),
[1] the syndrome was renamed colony collapse disorder in late 2006
[2] in conjunction with a drastic rise in the number of disappearances of
western honey bee (
Apis mellifera) colonies in North America.
[3] European beekeepers observed similar phenomena in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain,
[4] Switzerland and Germany, albeit to a lesser degree,
[5] and the
Northern Ireland Assembly received reports of a decline greater than 50%.
[6]
