Colony collapse disorder

Colony collapse disorder (CCD) is an abnormal phenomenon that occurs when the majority of worker bees in a honey bee colony disappear, leaving behind a queen, plenty of food, and a few nurse bees to care for the remaining immature bees. While such disappearances have occurred sporadically throughout the history of apiculture, and have been known by various names, the syndrome was renamed colony collapse disorder in early 2007 in conjunction with a drastic rise in reports of disappearances of western honey bee colonies in North America. Beekeepers in most European countries had observed a similar phenomenon since 1998, especially in Southern and Western Europe; the Northern Ireland Assembly received reports of a decline greater than 50%.

The phenomenon became more global when it affected some Asian and African countries as well.
Despite that, from 1990 to 2021, the United Nation's FAO calculated that the worldwide number of honeybee colonies increased 47%, reaching 102 million.

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Source: Wikipedia · Image: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0