14 DAY TRIAL // Over the last couple of years, British beekeepers have been drawing international attention to the fact that their bees seem to be affected by a mysterious disease. Stocks have dwindled recently, which drove the price of honey up, and have made bees a rather profitable investment. Apparently, thieves caught on to that as well, and started stealing beehives altogether, inhabitants included. As less and less bees are available on the market for purchase, and the price of honey constantly goes up, the thieves have a fairly good deal going for them, to the desperation of the hives' legitimate owners.
Bee experts believe that in most bee theft cases, responsible for the acts are rival beekeepers, who have either lost their own insects, or would rather boost their stocks without bothering to pay for that, or ask for permission. It takes a great deal of knowledge and expertise to move a hive in broad daylight, let alone move it inconspicuously at night. Also, once they have been moved, the thieves need to know how to take care of their bees, so they don't die shortly.
One of the largest thefts recorded in the UK was at a strawberry farm, BBC News reports. Eighteen hives, containing more than one million bees, were stolen from the premises. Other than the prejudice that the theft brought to the people managing the farm, the strawberry field itself will now be left with no means of pollination, which was the primary goal of the bees. “I couldn't believe it. The apiary was cleared out. There was nothing left except the stands the boxes stood on,” farm owner Richard Lyndsey said.
“You just never expect something like this to happen. You hear about sheep rustling and cattle rustling, but you never think in your wildest dreams that bees could be targeted,” he added. “Beekeeping's not an easy job even at the best of times. It's been a real struggle in the past few years with the decline in bees generally. Really, this is the last thing we need,” said his wife, Marieanne. The local police has no clues as to who the perpetrator might be, as there is nothing to suggest a rivalry may have been the cause of the theft here.
“It's always going to be difficult to keep a constant watch on an apiary, but there are practical steps beekeepers can take to reduce the opportunity for theft and increase the chance of recovering stolen equipment,” said in a statement a spokesperson for the National Bee Unit, a group set up by the government to keep an eye on bees and ensure their safety.