>does he have any idea what caused [CCD] and what caused it to "go away"?

Good question, Pete.  I do not wish to speak for others, so let me give a
more generic answer.  Good nutrition and mite management appear to make a
heckuva difference.  I don't know where nosema fits in.  Also the mutation
rates of viruses, and the natural selection for virulence of a parasite at
high host densities.

There appear to have been virus issues.   IAPV appears to be able to cause
problems, or at least be associated with problems.  Its cousin, KBV, also.
Then there are other viruses, including Dr Bromenshenk's unpublished
suspect.

The point to understand is that there are apparently about 20 viruses in our
bees, but researchers other than Bromenshenk/Wick have only had the means to
screen for 8 of them.  Bees could be dropping like flies from any of the
other dozen, and no one would detect the culprit.

Some recovering beekeepers bred from survivors.  Some simply ordered more
queens from the same breeders.

In my own small operation, the disease appears to have "gone away," (knock
on wood).  Perhaps we will eventually call CCD "Disappearing Disease Redux."

I am very interested in what we are learning about bee virology, and am
keenly following some of the researchers on the cutting edge, such as the
Bromenshenk/Wick team, and Nitzan Paldi at Beeologics.  I'm also very
curious as to how the epigenetic factors in viral resistance and/or
activation come into play.  These factors include nutrition, weather, and
exposure to chemicals, whether agricultural or beekeeper applied.

I wish that I could tell you that CCD has been solved.  But it hasn't.

Randy Oliver

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