Bee Health & Disease

No eggs, no larvae, no way to make a new queen until spring. A winter queenless colony is a dead colony walking. Most beekeepers won't know until March.

Before 1987, American beekeepers didn't treat for mites. Now it's non-negotiable. Varroa changed the practice, the economics, the genetics, and the culture.

The workers vanished in 2006, leaving queens and honey behind. Researchers found not one cause but six interacting factors. CCD was a symptom, not a disease.