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Beekeepers Stung by Rustlers

High price of honey motivates thieves to cart off bees by the million

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted May 22, 2009 3:45 AM CDT

(Newser) – A spate of thefts has rocked Britain's once close-knit beekeeping community, the Independent reports. Many farmers have lost hives, sometimes up to 100 in one theft, worth many thousands of dollars. A shortage of honey after massive bee die-offs over two harsh winters has made bees valuable enough to be targeted by thieves, and victims believe the rustlers must be rival beekeepers.

"It has got to be someone who knows about bees. Who would you want to move 40,000 bees?" asked one farmer whose hives were stolen. "They would have needed the right equipment and know how to move them without killing them. I assume they were either stolen to order, or it was a desperate bee farmer whose hives had died."

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Beekeepers expect thefts to peak next month, when honey production is at its highest. (AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian)

Bee farmers blame the rising cost of honey and two harsh winters for a huge increase in bee thievery. (AP Photo/Dan Balilty)

Thieves are rustling British beekeepers' honey bee hives just as honey season is about to peak. (©biggernoise)

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We've always felt we were a supportive community. It's a very unpleasant development.
- Christine Gray, spokeswoman for the British Beekeepers' Association

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Beekeepers Stung by Rustlers