3 Hives Stolen Near Wells Somerset

[hemburyhill]

I have just Discovered that all my National Hives have recently been stolen. They were well hidden, out of view and in a remote rural location. All hives were empty at the time. Unfortunately no parts were branded. If anyone has been offered cheap hives anywhere nearby please beware. Any information please let me know, thanks

 

[taff..]

thats ***** news for you and too close to home for comfort, will shout if I hear anything

 

[hedgerow pete]

sorry to hear about that but just one point yourself like a very many others on the forum dont say where you are from, if you look at my name you can see i come from the birmingham area of the uk on yours it just says uk unless hemburyhill is a place name rather than your own name

 

[hemburyhill]

sorry to hear about that but just one point yourself like a very many others on the forum dont say where you are from, if you look at my name you can see i come from the birmingham area of the uk on yours it just says uk unless hemburyhill is a place name rather than your own name

First post said it all Near Wells Somerset but I have now updated profile. Thanks for advice on that.

 

[hemburyhill]

thats ***** news for you and too close to home for comfort, will shout if I hear anything

Thanks Taff, I definitely recommend branding at least as a precaution

 

[grizzly]

sorry to hear of your losses hemburyhill.
Its truly sickening.


With all this talk on theft and branding, does anyone know where to get a decent branding tool these days ?

 

[Hombre]

A big automatic one that would brand a robbing b******s backside would be just about ideal.

 

[David P]

Is branding actually any more efficient than indelible marker pen.
As a side note I have all my broodframes marked up with initials and my BBKA membership number. IE DP BBKA **.**.***

 

[victor meldrew]

I wonder about the possibility of using a chip inserted into some part of hive (not the oven ready variety), not cheap but then again neither is bee equipment.
Maybe some enterprising person out there could start a little business inserting, logging etc . needn't get too complicated, a unique code could perhaps be assigned to individual beekeepers rather than individual pieces of equipment .
A transfer system perhaps when selling on as is the case with pets ?.

John Wilkinson

 

[DulwichGnome]

I wonder about the possibility of using a chip inserted into some part of hive
John Wilkinson

Nice idea but might be a bit too easy to find and dig out, not so easy on an animal.

Do you think they are being stolen to order? Or more of an opportunist theft!

Mike.

 

[East Yorks New Bee]

Thats a good idea john, a dog or cat chip is the size of a grain of rice. A small hole could be drilled anywhere on the hive or hive part, the chip inserted and the hole filled with glue and sawdust (to help conceal where the chip is). Then a database would need to be set up and a certificate to coincide with each chip issued to the owner, who if they sold the hive or part notified the database and also gave the certificates to the new owner, thus the new owner had proof of ownership till the database was updated. Well thats my idea anyways

 

[VEG]

The hives have to be stolen to order as what would a chance theif do with them if they didnt have anywhere to sell them.

 

[victor meldrew]

Nice idea but might be a bit too easy to find and dig out, not so easy on an animal.

Do you think they are being stolen to order? Or more of an opportunist theft!

Mike.

There have been problems due to 2 bad summers in a row followed by a colder and longer winter than normal. Plus an increase in demand for bees from a public who're becoming aware of honey bees as distinct from bumble bees by all the media cover of "The Plight of the Honeybee" etc.
There are always those who will take advantage of a situation ( where there's money to be made)
The internet provides endless videos on moving hives ,the distances involved.etc.
I'd like to think that these bees are stolen by non-beekeepers armed with said knowledge but sadly the law of averages points to beekeepers being involved, not necessarily for sale but to replace lost stock perhaps.

John Wilkinson

 

[BKF Admin]

I love the new Avatar John

 

[victor meldrew]

I love the new Avatar John

Give a dog (wolf in sheeps clothing) a bad name so the saying goes .

John Wilkinson

 

[DulwichGnome]

I was just asking because an friend of mine was asking what kind of money they might go for and when I told me he said "I can think of easier ways of making a couple of hundred quid!". But if they were empty then it would make it easier I suppose.

I find those ratchet straps defeat most people, drive a couple of pegs into the ground and use one of them!!

Mike.

 

[Brosville]

Looks like another Monsanto job to me -

 

[David P]

looks like this should do the job. Have to see what it costs though. Sent an enquiry and will post reply http://www.lushglen.co.uk/page52.html

 

[Mosquito]

The hives have to be stolen to order as what would a chance theif do with them if they didnt have anywhere to sell them.

I bet it was another Beekeeper.
Allot cheaper to still hives then buy them.
And who knew they where there???

 

[planbee]

My hives are on the far side of a field; the field has a hump in it so that you can only just make out the tops of the hives, when standing at the gate.

I first used that site over 14 years ago, when I kept bee's before.

In all that time, I've never seen anyone else there, until Sunday evening.

I called in, on my way home, and "my" farmer was there, with her grandchildren.

There's two gates, one is ten yards behind the other, and she had found both gates wide open, [it's not on a public road], and she was putting chains around them.

There's 22 beast in the field, one due to calve, and she reckons that theft of all sorts of farm equipment is on the increase, including livestock, and that's in spite of ear tags etc.

I went there twice yesterday, everything complete, so maybe a crime prevented, who know's?

John