> We propose a new causative mechanism for the vanishing of the bees through critically shortened telomeres in long-lived winter bees, and call it the telomere premature aging syndrome (TPAS). Based on the assumption of short telomeres in western honey bees, let us discuss how this could explain some characteristics of colony collapse disorder.

> Can shortened telomeres contribute to increased mortality from infectious diseases? Yes, this has been shown in a human study.

> If short telomeres lead to immunosuppression and subsequent infectious diseases in old animals, the prevailing sign of CCD should be an unusually young age of the remaining work force. Is this the case? Yes, this has been described as the only charac- teristic change of the diminished worker honey bee population.

> If critically shortened telomeres are present in current colonies of Apis mellifera, what made them short? One of us (R.S.) has developed a theory of species extinction and speciation based on ever-shortening telomeres between generations of a species.

> Will telomere erosion cause extinction of western honey bees? According to the telomere speciation model [28], this is not very likely. Subsequent to the initial phase of chromosomal instabil- ity, the occurrence of chromosomal polymorphisms and the cre- ation of a new chromosomal race should allow some colonies to recover and gain fitness over following generations. The queens, holding the new fused chromosome in their eggs, cannot utilize the spermatozoa of drones with the ‘‘old” original karyotype from other hives (reproductive isolation). Therefore, there will be some sort of inbreeding leading to telomere elongation, as has been documented in lab mice 

Vanishing honey bees: Is the dying of adult worker bees a consequence of short telomeres and premature aging?
Reinhard Stindl , Wolfgang Stindl Jr.

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