ARS News Service
Agricultural Research Service, USDA
Kim Kaplan, (301) 504-1637, [log in to unmask]
July 13, 2007

WASHINGTON, July 13, 2007--U.S. Department of Agriculture Under 
Secretary for Research, Education and Economics Gale Buchanan today 
announced that USDA researchers have finalized an action plan for 
dealing with colony collapse disorder (CCD) of honey bees. The plan 
can be read at www.ars.usda.gov/is/br/ccd/ccd_actionplan.pdf

"There were enough honey bees to provide pollination for U.S. 
agriculture this year, but beekeepers could face a serious problem 
next year and beyond," Buchanan said. "This action plan provides a 
coordinated framework to ensure that all of the research that needs 
to be done is covered in order to get to the bottom of the CCD problem."

The action plan coordinates the federal strategy in response to CCD. 
It addresses four main components: (1) survey and data collection 
needs; (2) analysis of samples to determine the prevalence of various 
pests and pathogens, exposure to pesticides, or other unusual 
factors; (3) controlled experiments to carefully analyze the 
potential causes of CCD; and (4) developing new methods to improve 
the general health of bees to reduce their susceptibility to CCD and 
other disorders.

Four possible causes for CCD are identified in the plan: (1) new or 
reemerging pathogens, (2) new bee pests or parasites, (3) 
environmental and/or nutritional stress, or (4) pesticides. Research 
will focus on determining which of these factors are contributing 
causes of CCD, either individually or in combination.

CCD became apparent as a problem beginning in the winter of 2006-2007 
when some beekeepers began reporting losses of 30-90 percent of their 
hives. While colony losses are not unexpected during winter weather, 
the magnitude of loss suffered by some beekeepers was highly unusual.

There is currently no recognizable underlying cause for CCD. The main 
symptom is finding no or a low number of adult honey bees present 
with no dead honey bees in the hive. Often there is still honey in 
the hive and immature bees (brood) are present.

Pollination is a critical element in agriculture, as honey bees 
pollinate more than 130 crops in the United States and add $15 
billion in crop value annually.

The research action plan was developed by a CCD Steering Committee, 
chaired by Kevin Hackett, USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) 
national program leader for bees and pollination; H.J. Rick Meyer, 
national program leader for plant and animal systems for USDA's 
Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES); 
and Mary Purcell-Miramontes, national program leader for biobased 
pest management, entomology and nematology for CSREES. The committee 
also included other federal and university experts.

Even before the completion of this research plan, considerable 
research efforts have begun to be redirected to deal with CCD.

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