colony collapse disorder

noun

: a disorder of honeybees (Apis mellifera) that is of unknown cause and that is characterized by sudden colony death due to the disappearance of all adult worker bees in a hive while immature bees, the queen bee, and the honey remain

… since 2006, hundreds of thousands of U.S. honeybee colonies have died out in what is being called colony collapse disorder. Whether caused by a new insecticide, disease, or a mix of stressors, the losses have spurred a flurry of research …

—Jennifer S. Holland

—abbreviation CCD

Examples of colony collapse disorder in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Their game-changing discoveries will result in a massive cover story in a glitzy magazine, the many years of their Ph.D. research solving the mystery of colony collapse disorder — when worker bees exit a honey bee colony, leaving the queen with food and nurse bees to care for the immature bees. —David John Chávez, The Mercury News, 13 Mar. 2024

In scientific terms, colony collapse disorder is the phenomenon of worker bees leaving a honeybee colony, leaving behind a queen bee, lots of food and some nurse bees to take care of the immature bees. —David John Chávez, The Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2024

The next step in their journey was to become virtual beekeepers to help others who share their concern over colony collapse disorder join them. —Kimberly Winter Stern, Kansas City Star, 25 Jan. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

2007, in the meaning defined above