Honeybee thieves target UK hives

As the UK honeybee population declines, bees have become a valuable asset, and beekeepers are now being targeted by professional thieves who sell hives on the black market.

A sharp drop in Britain’s bee population has seen second-hand hives that used to sell for just £30 now fetch over £200 – a statistic that has not gone unnoticed by thieves.

Rustlers in the north of England recently stole 12 hives from Whitby, North Yorkshire.

Other thefts have seen bees taken from farms in Shropshire, Hampshire, Norfolk, and Staffordshire.

A strawberry farm in Telford, Shropshire had over a million bees stolen overnight.

Police believe the bees are being stolen to order for keepers whose populations have been destroyed by two successive cold winters and the invasion of the UK by bee-killing varroa mites.

Bee experts say the number of thefts is unprecedented.

David Sutton, the National Bee Unit inspector for western England, said: “You used to get the odd one or two, but not like this.

“People are realising the value of bees now because they are very scarce.”

Sal Mancina, chairman of the Cleveland Beekeepers Association, added: “Some unscrupulous people are taking hives from others, and it has to be someone who knows what they are doing, who is wearing a bee suit and who knows exactly the right time to do it as well.

“The real shame is that it is another beekeeper who is doing it . . . what would a member of the public do with a hive?”

As more bees are stolen, their value is increasing, making the rustler’s black market trading even more lucrative.