colony collapse       
noun [ C or U ]  environment specialized uk/ˌkɒl.ə.ni kəˈlæps/ us/ˌkɑː.lə.ni kəˈlæps/
 蜂群崩坏(即大批蜂巢內的工蜂突然消失)
the sudden disappearance of most of the bees in a colony (= a group living together)
  Several countries have reported cases of colony collapse. 已经有几个国家报告了蜂群崩坏的案例。 
 In a colony collapse, there are no bodies, no dead bees to be found. 蜂群崩坏出现时,没有尸体,也没有发现死蜂。 
 - More examples
- It is travelling bee colonies that appear to have been most heavily affected by colony collapse.
- An Austrian survey noted that two-thirds of beekeepers with mobile phone masts within 300 metres had suffered unexplained colony collapse.
- Whatever turns out to be the immediate cause of colony collapse, many entomologists believe some such disaster was waiting to happen.
- Scientists yesterday identified a virus as one of the likely causes of the recent wave of honeybee colony collapses across the country.