a Debora snip...
'Hi Kristina, thanks for your response...yea this is why it's such a mystery, up to the point that we realized the bees were gone ~ about the 11th of November ~ they appeared content, clean, active ~ they were an integral part of our front deck and yard with an eastern exposure. We're in the Monterey Bay area of Central California and the weather has been extremely mild. There is a drought'

my comments...
absconding can be a pretty weak kind of description < that is did the bees actually leave or did they simply die out both of which after the fact may look the same but be loosely describe as absconding.  most folks never see absconding directly but as others have pointed out disease, predation and starvation can all be viewed as primary cause.  some genetic lines (say the african bee for example) may have the natural tendency to abscond more than other... so yes there also can be a genetic cause.  to add some 'causes' to your list here certain ants and wax moth can also create the situation to induce absconding < it is also my experience when either of these are the cause some honey may be left in the hive.  it some location the small hive beetle has been reported to cause hive to abscond.

beautiful country out that way and my wife I was there a couple of time just prior to Christmas and I would say from what I saw then that drought conditions and the mild temperature may point to absconding due to lack of resources < not much coming in and abnormal consumption of resources created by the mild temperatures.

normally in these sorts of case I look real hard at any litter on the bottom board, review the cells around the last patch of brood for signs of varroa infestation and then have a pretty good idea of why 'the girls' left.  when you took the hive apart was there any pollen left in the cells?

and good luck to ya'....

  

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