How COLOSS Monitoring and Research on Lost Honey Bee Colonies Can Support Colony Survival

Abstract

Formation of This Group Since the mid-2000s beekeepers began to report cases of widespread, elevated mortalities of honey bee colonies (Figure 1) in different parts of the world. Today, international scientific monitoring of honey bee colony losses is organised as one of three ‘Core Projects’ of the non-profit honey bee research association COLOSS (prevention of honey bee COlony LOSSes). The topic of this Core Project, colony losses, is reflected in the acronym COLOSS, underlining its importance to the association! Since the very beginning of COLOSS as an EU COST-funded action in 2008, a working group has been dedicated to collect standardised data on honey bee colony losses. This group was termed “monitoring & diagnosis” and was first led and largely shaped by Romée van der Zee from the Netherlands. It is important also to note the involvement of other members who have been very active from the early days until today. These include Flemming Vejsnæs from the Danish Beekeepers Association, Victoria Soroker from Israel, Franco Mutinelli from Italy, and recently retired Preben Kristiansen from Sweden. No other international and long-lasting effort on honey bee colony health and mortality was established in Europe prior to this effort.