TY - JOUR
T1 - Colony collapse disorder
T2 - A descriptive study
AU - vanEngelsdorp, Dennis
AU - Evans, Jay D.
AU - Saegerman, Claude
AU - Mullin, Chris
AU - Haubruge, Eric
AU - Nguyen, Bach Kim
AU - Frazier, Maryann
AU - Frazier, Jim
AU - Cox-Foster, Diana
AU - Chen, Yanping
AU - Underwood, Robyn
AU - Tarpy, David R.
AU - Pettis, Jeffery S.
PY - 2009/8/3
Y1 - 2009/8/3
N2 - Background: Over the last two winters, there have been large-scale, unexplained losses of managed honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies in the United States. In the absence of a known cause, this syndrome was named Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) because the main trait was a rapid loss of adult worker bees. We initiated a descriptive epizootiological study in order to better characterize CCD and compare risk factor exposure between populations afflicted by and not afflicted by CCD. Methods and Principal Findings:Of 61 quantified variables (including adult bee physiology, pathogen loads, and pesticide levels), no single measure emerged as a most-likely cause of CCD. Bees in CCD colonies had higher pathogen loads and were co-infected with a greater number of pathogens than control populations, suggesting either an increased exposure to pathogens or a reduced resistance of bees toward pathogens. Levels of the synthetic acaricide coumaphos (used by beekeepers to control the parasitic mite Varroa destructor) were higher in control colonies than CCD-affected colonies. Conclusions/Significance: This is the first comprehensive survey of CCD-affected bee populations that suggests CCD involves an interaction between pathogens and other stress factors. We present evidence that this condition is contagious or the result of exposure to a common risk factor. Potentially important areas for future hypothesis-driven research, including the possible legacy effect of mite parasitism and the role of honey bee resistance to pesticides, are highlighted.
AB - Background: Over the last two winters, there have been large-scale, unexplained losses of managed honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies in the United States. In the absence of a known cause, this syndrome was named Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) because the main trait was a rapid loss of adult worker bees. We initiated a descriptive epizootiological study in order to better characterize CCD and compare risk factor exposure between populations afflicted by and not afflicted by CCD. Methods and Principal Findings:Of 61 quantified variables (including adult bee physiology, pathogen loads, and pesticide levels), no single measure emerged as a most-likely cause of CCD. Bees in CCD colonies had higher pathogen loads and were co-infected with a greater number of pathogens than control populations, suggesting either an increased exposure to pathogens or a reduced resistance of bees toward pathogens. Levels of the synthetic acaricide coumaphos (used by beekeepers to control the parasitic mite Varroa destructor) were higher in control colonies than CCD-affected colonies. Conclusions/Significance: This is the first comprehensive survey of CCD-affected bee populations that suggests CCD involves an interaction between pathogens and other stress factors. We present evidence that this condition is contagious or the result of exposure to a common risk factor. Potentially important areas for future hypothesis-driven research, including the possible legacy effect of mite parasitism and the role of honey bee resistance to pesticides, are highlighted.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=68149116255&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=68149116255&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0006481
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0006481
M3 - Article
C2 - 19649264
AN - SCOPUS:68149116255
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 4
JO - PloS one
JF - PloS one
IS - 8
M1 - e6481
ER -