Beekeeping (Apiculture): Colony Collaspe Disorder

EPA Pollinator Protection: Colony Collapse Disorder

EPA: Pollinator Protection
"Colony Collapse Disorder 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. Once thought to pose a major long term threat to bees, reported cases of CCD have declined substantially over the last five years. The number of hives that do not survive over the winter months – the overall indicator for bee health – has maintained an average of about 28.7 percent since 2006-2007 but dropped to 23.1 percent for the 2014-2015 winter. While winter losses remain somewhat high, the number of those losses attributed to CCD has dropped from roughly 60 percent of total hives lost in 2008 to 31.1 percent in 2013; in initial reports for 2014-2015 losses, CCD is not mentioned."
EPA Actions to Protect Pollinators
"Pesticide risk management must be based on sound science, consistent with the laws under which pesticides are regulated in the United States. EPA has been working aggressively to protect bees and other pollinators from pesticide exposure.

EPA’s actions to protect pollinators from pesticide exposure include:

Implemented a policy in 2017 that protects bees from agricultural pesticide spray and dust applications while the bees are under contract to provide pollination services. The policy also recommends that states and tribes develop pollinator protection plans and best management practices."

United States Department of Agriculture Library

ARS Honey Bee Health and Colony Collapse Disorder: https://www.ars.usda.gov/oc/br/ccd/index/

"The Agricultural Research Service (ARS), USDA's in-house scientific research agency, is striving to enhance overall honey bee health and improve bee management practices by studying honey bee diseases and parasites and how best to control them, as well as basic honey bee biology and genetics. ARS scientists also are working on projects as diverse as studying the biological interaction of simultaneous exposure to sublethal amounts of pesticides and infection by nosema fungi to long-term storage of honey bee semen to preserve genetic resources. In addition, ARS researchers are cooperating with other Federal agencies and State departments of agriculture, universities, and private companies in a variety of projects to improve honey bee health."

2007 Colony Collaspe Disorder Plan

Colony Collapse Disorder Action Plan CCD Steering Committee June 20, 2007
"In June 2007, ARS and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), USDA's extramural research grants agency, co-chaired a workshop of scientists and stakeholders to develop a Colony Collapse Disorder Action Plan. This plan identified areas where more information was needed and developed a research priority list for additional research projects related to finding the cause/causes of CCD."