A man was arrested in Washington state for stealing dozens of beehives. The bees may have a value of over $200,000.
“The case has the potential of over 30 victims across California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington,” said a spokesperson from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s office.
The man was arrested and charged with possession of stolen property.
Investigators conducted a 35-hour investigation, and followed tips from farmers and beekeepers. Beekeepers will often put their company name on their hives so that others can identify who they belong to. A local farmer noticed some hives in a field and he saw that the company name had been covered up with fresh paint. These particular hives were located in a field not far from where they had previously disappeared.
The County Sheriff set up a sting operation by having the farmer who owned this field send a text to the suspected bee thief. The farmer’s text said that his field was going to be sprayed with pesticide, and that the bee hives should be removed before he did that. When the thief arrived to load up the stolen hives, he was quickly arrested by sheriff’s deputies.
These bees are specially bred to pollinate crops. They aren’t the same type we see in our home flower gardens. Professional beekeepers say that it takes about one year for a hive to grow to full capacity. It also takes a lot of diligent work to protect the bees and keep them healthy. Apparently, there are some people out there who aren’t willing to put out all of that effort. They would rather take the easy way out and simply steal the bees.
Special thanks to our law enforcement for fighting this type of crime. Now, let’s all hope that the governor doesn’t just let him out of jail next week.
