The reason I posted the excerpt was because it was written by Dennis VanEngelsdorp, and seemed to be an effort to close the book. I recalled that he was the one who coined the term. Checking back to be certain of this, I found

> According to an FAQ published on March 9, 2007 by the Colony Collapse Disorder Working Group based primarily at Penn State University, the first report of CCD was made in mid-November 2006 by Dave Hackenberg, a Pennsylvania beekeeper overwintering his 2900 hives in Florida. Only 1000 survived. Soon other migratory beekeepers reported similar heavy losses. Subsequent reports from beekeepers painted a picture of a marked increase in die-offs, which led to the present concern among bee experts. The name CCD was invented by vanEngelsdorp and his colleagues at Penn State.

Dennis and Robyn M. Underwood wrote in 2007:

> “Colony Collapse Disorder” (CCD) is a new tag name presently being given to a condition that is characterized by an unexplained rapid loss of a colony’s adult population. Collapsed colonies have no or very few bees remaining, either in the dead hive or in the apiary. Large-scale losses are not new to the beekeeping industry (Table 1). Many of the symptoms similar to those expressed by CCD-affected colonies have been described before. The first published record of this disorder appeared in 1869. An anonymous author reported loss of bees which left behind hives with plenty of honey. It was speculated that the death was due to a lack of pollen, poisonous honey, or a hot summer. 

> Recently, a new species of nosema has been described [44] that has been suspected to cause losses similar to those being experienced at the present time. The presence of the parasite causes non-specific symptoms, such as low honey yields, higher than normal fall/winter colony mortality, and gradual depopulation of colonies The losses that have been occurring for over 100 years could be completely separate events or part of a cycle of disappearance. So far, we can only speculate. The cause of the recent honey bee colony losses, termed Colony Collapse Disorder, is still unknown.

And then in 2018:

> The decline in CCD cases mirrors historical records of the disease, suggesting it follows an incidence pattern similar to that of other epidemics caused by highly pathogenic organisms.

Historically this phenomenon was called "disappearing disease" because the bees disappeared. Similar disappearances were compared to the Marie Celeste, a ship found adrift without a soul on board. "Her cargo of alcohol was intact, and the captain's and crew's personal belongings were undisturbed. None of those who had been on board were ever seen or heard from again."

PLB

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