1	Coming next summer EAS ’07 Delaware Aug 8-10 SC 6-8
2	Colony Collapse Disorder Dewey M. Caron
3	Disappearing Bees
4	Symptoms CCD Adult bee population suddenly gone without any accumulation of dead bees Small cluster w/ queen, few young bees
5	Few adults
6	Symptoms CCD Adult bee population suddenly gone without any accumulation of dead bees Small cluster w/ queen, few young bees Brood, pollen, and honey present Robbing or scavenger attack [wax moth or small hive beetle] delayed
7	Original Case Studies Seven beekeepers, managing colonies in 10 states Factors that are in common Migratory beekeepers cumulative dead-out rate of >30% continuously “split” to increase numbers experienced “stress” 2 months before die-off
8	Original Case Studies Factors not in common Antibiotic use Miticide used Source of queens Supplemental feed
9	Unlikely Causes Parasitic mite syndrome Poisoned or contaminated feed New strain of Nosema (Nosema ceranae) that has been found in Europe and Taiwan GMOs or High towers NOT isolated to commercial/migratory beekeepers
10	Examination of samples Varroa levels high but may be artificial No HBTM Virus in thoracic cuts?
11	Evidence of “kidney damage”
12	Evidence of Fungal Conditions
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14	Sample Collection In FL, TX and CA 11 operations Representing 10 states 102 colonies
15	Beekeeper surveys Case studies MAAREC.org PSU Office of research protection Passive beekeeper reporting (Bee Alert, Inc.) Beesurvey.com
16	Current states where CCD has been documented
17	Nutritional stress Adult workers (EtOH) NC State Whole-bee protein content Proxy for colony nutritional health PDA/Penn State Digestive system UDSA study
18	Commercial study 160 Italian & 100 Russian 4 diets – Bee Pro, Feed Bee, Mega Bee, Adee program, pollen & control Measuring bees (HP, nitrogen), colonies (brood, diet eaten), + disease pathogens One location (Adee holding yard, Bkfield, CA) Early read – diet-fed colonies had more brood BUT tough to stimulate bees in November
19	Pathology Adult workers (-80^OC) Penn State Unknown pathogen(s) Fungal analysis Virus analysis USDA Immunity microarray PDA Fungal test NC State Mitotyping analysis
20	Environmental contamination Comb Bee Bread Penn State neonicotinoids and other chemicals Wax Penn State and Bee Alert, Inc. Chemical residues Honey National Honey Board HMF, other properties
21	Environmental contamination Pesticides are killers.. Bees may be non-targets. Pesticides... Kill colony outright Kill foragers + sometimes some brood Weaken colonies so don’t survive winter Herbicides reduce bee ‘weeds’ Candidate Pesticides Neo-nicotinoids Herbicides GMO Bt Water Air pollution
22	Plant poisoning Plants may have toxic nectar or pollen Basswood (why dead bees below??) Southern leatherwood (turn larvae purple) California buckeye (must move colonies from CA foothills of Sierra Nevada when in bloom) Plants may have nectar/ripening honey toxicity to humans Mt. laurel & rhodendrons
23	Bioterrorism Russian Premier Putin Cup of tea? Our Middle Eastern Gihad enemies?
24	2007 Experiments Sterilization of comb Penn State USDA/ARS collaboration for expansion Nutritional stress Penn State and NC State Year round monitoring Penn State and NC state USDA expansion?
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27	Current Recommendations
28	The Ultimate Solution?