It's the bee version of a mystery thriller. Hives full of healthy honey bees suddenly empty. Inside, beekeepers the world over would find abandoned young and a queen but no worker bee corpses.

At first apiarists worried a new disease was infecting their colonies. Evidence would later show bees were stressed out - by pesticides, pests and poor food quality - but not even that could explain the rapid collapse of colonies.

Now an Australian-led team has discovered how multiple stressors trigger a series of events that can quickly lead to a total breakdown of bee society.

"It's very rapid," said research leader Andrew Barron.