What is causing CCD (Colony Collapse Disorder) in Honey Bees?

Question

No one knows where the bees are going. It sounds like something that is infecting their brains causing a dimentia or alzheimer's which is why they are unable to find their way back to the hive. What tests are being done on bees still in the hive? Are there any indications of something not related to other "bee diseases" pesticides or mites?

Answer 1

cell phone signals and radiations

Answer 2

CCD is not the end of the world (or agriculture) as we know it and it is being resolved. I was really concerned when I first heard of it and then I did some research. Contrary to popular myth, it's not caused by radio or cellphone towers. It actually comes from a number of issues:

1) Varroa mites. The mites suck the "blood" of the bees leaving open wounds which make the bees more susceptible to infection. They can also carry diseases and spread it from hive to hive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varroa_dest...

2) Foulbrood or chalkbrood disease: bacteria or fungus that infect larvae. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diseases_of...

3) Acute Bee Paralysis Virus (ABPV) or Israel Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV). Generally this is a virus that comes in and wipes out colonies weakened by the mites.

One of the things that are being done to help include breeding bees for "hygienic behavior", which means the bees will uncap and clean out the larvae cells that are infected thereby preventing the spread of disease. Another thing that's "pretty sweet" (sorry) is rolling bees in powdered sugar to get the mites to fall off. The bees don't like it very much but it makes them VERY popular!

This is a cool and informative site from the American Beekeeping Federation: http://www.abfnet.org/

Answer 3

It's not cell phone towers.  Bees don't navigate on the radio waves.

It's a virus that is spreading causing the death of these bees.

Answer 4

All I've seen thus far points to Cell Phone towers which in the past 10 years have sprung up everywhere.

The things I have read say that the signal blocks their natural homing abilities. But they are yet to prove it.