> How can you expect to use a survey, phone call or email to 
> poll a diverse group of people like beekeepers to inquire 
> if they are seeing the same behaviour?  As we say here alot 
> on Bee-L "all beekeeping is local". 

It is easier than you might think.
The symptoms are fairly unique.

There is even an FAQ on the MAAREC website
( http://maarec.cas.psu.edu/FAQ/FAQCCD.pdf )
that lists the overt symptoms, and so far,
no one has mentioned that one's location 
made any difference in terms of overt symptoms,
so I'll venture that the symptoms seen to date
are consistent regardless of one's location.
 
" How do I know if a colony has CCD? 
Colonies impacted by CCD have the following characteristics:

1) The complete absence of adult bees in the hive, (in some 
   cases the queen and a small number of survivor bees are 
   present in the brood nest) with no or little build-up of 
   dead bees in the hive or at the hive entrances.

2) The presence of capped brood.

3) The presence of food stores, both honey and bee bread, 
   which is not immediately robbed by other bees. Invasion 
   of common hive pests such as wax moth and small hive beetle 
   is noticeably delayed in dead-out equipment left in the field.

What are the early signs of CCD? 
In cases where the colony appears to be actively collapsing:

1) There is an insufficient workforce to maintain the brood that is present.

2) The workforce seems to be made up of young adult bees.

3) The queen is present, appears healthy and is usually still laying eggs.

4) The cluster is reluctant to consume feed provided by the beekeeper, 
   such as sugar syrup and protein supplement.

5) Foraging populations are greatly reduced/non-existent."


>> Does CCD affect AHB?
>> (thinking that there's yet another TLA to  remember)

Gee, I dunno, no one's mentioned it.
Maybe we should ask the folks at MAAREC
(And I'm a charter member of PASTA - "People Against STupid Acronyms"!)

   

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