The name CCD (Colony Collapse Disorder) was chosen because the  name 
disappearing disease implies that one knows that the cause of the  disappearance of 
the bees is a disease, which may or may not be  true.
 
I was involved in the phone call that discussed what to call this when it  
became apparent that the problem was not fall dwindle disease (another of the  
old names that implied that the disorder only occurs in the fall). 
 
I was the one that argued that we shouldn't call it a disease unless  we knew 
it was a disease.  Also, not all of the bees disappeared,  the first symptom 
was a collapse.  Jeff Pettis pointed out that  Collapse better described what 
we were seeing.   And, it occurred at the  colony level, hence the name CCD.
 
Now, I've been around for over 30 years, so I can say that CCD may be the  
same thing as the Disappearing Disease of the 70s and 60s - if you read the old  
reports, the symptoms are similar, if not the same.  Its also been called  
Dwindling Disease, and a host of names such as SAD.  Assuming this is  something 
that comes around every so often, the problem with the old names is  that 
most implied things about the problem that were assumed, not proven.
 
And, as many on the list are quick to point out, disappearing disease had a  
tendency to disappear before anyone could figure it out.  Unfortunately, we  
are into year two of CCD in this iteration (assuming it is the same  problem) 
and it hit at the same time (maybe shifted a few weeks later) and about  the 
same number of colonies/operations as it did the year before.
 
Jerry
 
 
 
Jerry
 
 
 
 



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