If irradiation does kill off the CCD agent, then the main culprit should 
be spore-like in nature.

Unless virus' can stay alive for any length of time outside the host in 
air, sunlight, and all the other things that tend to kill them, then 
they should not be the underlying cause of CCD. However, bacteria and 
fungi can revert to spores in their dormant stage, and can survive for 
exceptionally long periods under very harsh environments, so they would 
seem to be prime candidates for CCD.

Nosema is a fungus which forms spores that can survive for long periods. 
No QED here, but Nosema seems to be in the forefront.

Again, it may not be that it is the cause, but coupled with any other 
stress factor, could easily cause colony collapse. AIDs does not kill, 
but just about anything combined with it does. Same with a bunch of 
diseases associated with old age, like congestive heart failure. It is 
often only pneumonia that is on the death certificate. Transporting bees 
over distance is stressful. Winter is stressful. Mites are stressful.

Add that there have been combinations of Tracheal and nosema that caused 
massive bee kills, and there does seem to be a pattern.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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