Colony survive winter but very weak and then does not expand normally.
Dwindling/collapse is a general catch-all term for the sudden disappearance of bees/loss of colonies that is commonly noted in both seasons. Other names have included disappearing disease, spring dwindling, May disease and Autumn disease. The condition for the Fall dwindle/collapse/Autumn disease was renamed colony collapse disorder (CCD) in late 2006 in conjunction with an apparent drastic rise in the number of honey bee colonies collapsing suddenly in the U.S. and Europe. The fall disappearances has also been renamed as Bee PMS parasitic mite syndrome in 2000, although there now is an effort to rename it VMS – Varroa Mite Syndrome. No specific pathogen has been found as a causative agent in either the sudden spring or fall colony demise. Brood diseases (snot brood, European foulbrood, IBDS (idiopathic brood disease syndrome), spotty brood patternspotty brood pattern:
capped worker cells that are not uniformly solid within the brood sphere; numbers of cells lacking brood of the same brood age; indicative of poor colony queen or poor health
), plus adult disease Nosema, chronic pesticide exposure, poor nutrition, Varroa, and several bee viruses (DWV (deformed wing virus), VDV (Varroa destructor virus), KBV (Kashmir bee virus), ABPV (acute bee paralysis virus), IAPV (Israeli bee paralysis virus) are all possible interacting factors that elevate with stressed bees/colony and can lead to heavier-than-expected winter losses or poor colony performance in spring buildup.
CCD Bee PMS; spring Deadout; weak spring colony
See CCD