Bee rustling
Bee rustling is the term for theft of honey bees, analogous to cattle rustling. It has been reported in Western Canada, the Western United States, and the United Kingdom. A 2014 theft in California was valued at US$65,000, and a December 2016 theft of 300 bee colonies in Texas was valued at $90,000.[1][2][3] Bees and honey worth $100,000 were stolen from a farm in Abbotsford, British Columbia in 2012.[4] The California State Beekeepers Association offers a $10,000 reward for information resulting in the arrest and conviction of a bee rustler.[5]
Modern Farmer, The Guardian and others ascribe the increase in this crime to higher honeybee values after colony collapse disorders started c. 2006.[1][6][7]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Brian Elsasser (October 20, 2014), "Farm Crime: To Catch a Bee Rustler", Modern Farmer
- ^ Doyin Oyeniyi (January 11, 2017), "Forget Cattle Rustling—Watch Out For Bee Rustlers", Texas Monthly subtitle $90,000 of bees were stolen from a Danbury resident as bee rustling is on the rise.
- ^ Dana Guthrie (January 9, 2017), "'Bee rustlers' make off with 300 colonies in Brazoria County", Houston Chronicle
- ^ Hives containing 500,000 bees stolen in B.C.: Large-scale bee colony thefts also reported in Alberta, New Zealand, CBC, July 30, 2012
- ^ John Cox (February 3, 2016), "Beekeepers fall victim to theft as hive rental prices rise", The Bakersfield Californian
- ^ Brett Murphy (May 17, 2016), "Sticky fingers: The rise of the bee thieves", The Guardian
- ^ Ryan Haas (April 16, 2014), A New Western Outlaw: The Bee Rustler, Seattle: KUOW-FM
- Lorraine Boissoneault, The Sting: Fighting the Rise of Bee Rustlers, Weather.com, archived from the original on April 16, 2021
- Bee rustlers add to misery of struggling hive owners, BBC, May 25, 2013