The recent concern over CCD has much in common with the historical “Isle of Wight Disease” episode, and many lessons can be learned. Initial concern about colony losses in one particular area, the USA, has led to global media attention. Moreover, colony losses throughout the world are being ascribed to CCD, yet that term was specifically coined to describe a precisely defined set of symptoms and not colony losses per se. Indeed, honey bee colonies can die in many ways, and CCD is just one of them.

Author(s): Peter Neumann and Norman L Carreck

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