colony collapse disorder

American  

noun

1. a pathological condition affecting a large number of honeybee colonies, in which various stresses may lead to the abrupt disappearance of worker bees from the hive, leaving only the queen and newly hatched bees behind and thus causing the colony to stop functioning. CCD

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colony collapse disorder Scientific  

1. A condition chiefly affecting the hives of domesticated honeybees, characterized by the sudden disappearance and death of so many worker bees that the colony cannot be maintained.

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Etymology

Origin of colony collapse disorder

First recorded in 2006

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

colony collapse disorder

Those who keep and study bees, as Jesse Plemons’s character does in the chilling sci-fi black comedy “Bugonia,” have paid a lot of attention to a phenomenon called colony collapse disorder, or CCD.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2025

Some fungi produce powerful antiviral compounds which reduce colony collapse disorder in honeybees.

From New York Times ● Jun. 24, 2023

But while neonicotinoids were tied to colony collapse disorder, it was less clear precisely what the insecticide was doing to bees.

From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2022

Predict the consequences of the bee colony collapse disorder in a state such as California, which is a large supplier of produce.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022

Such a pesticide kill is indistinguishable from colony collapse disorder.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 19, 2019