I

ANNO 4 Numero 3
Franco Mutinelli, Anna Granato [1]

Colony Collapse Disorder in the USA. Update on the current situation

[1] Centro di referenza nazionale per l’apicoltura, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Legnaro (PD), Italy

Corresponding author: fmutinelli@izsvenezie.it

CCD is characterized by the rapid loss from a colony of its adult bee population. No dead adult bees are found inside or in close proximity to the colony. At the end stages of collapse, a queen is attended only by a few newly emerged adult bees. Collapsed colonies often have considerable capped brood and food reserves.

The phenomenon of CCD was first reported in 2006; however, beekeepers noted unique colony declines consistent with CCD as early as 2004. An estimated 23% of beekeeping operations in the USA suffered from CCD over the winter of 2006-2007. These beekeepers lost 50 to 90% of their operations. The exact causes of CCD are unknown and the following are some that have been mentioned as possible contributing factors: pesticides and herbicides; mites, pathogens and viruses; malnutrition; climatic issues including global warming; genetically modified crops; use of pharmaceutical products in the hive; electromagnetic radiation-power lines and cell phone masts; migratory beekeeping.

One relevant hypothesis is that CCD is due to the introduction of a novel infectious agent. An update on CCD findings and etiopathogenetic hypotheses is given.