Journalist questions regarding UK hive thefts

[Erichalfbee]

Ha,ha. Three colonies stolen and basically destroyed (moved a short distance and returned about two weeks later, after scumbag was given a police caution. Effing idiot starting out beekeeping. Ignorant bar steward (no, not a public house landlord!).

Yes I remember that.
Bloody awful.

 

[psafloyd]

I can’t believe you said that
So if your schedule is too tight and you can’t verify your information you should do the honourable thing and spike the piece.

Most of the questions asked in this thread have nothing to do with official figures, but about beekeepers' experience.

FOIs can take a long time, and don't always produce results. Official figures are not always accurate, as bee thefts may not be recorded separately.

So what better place to get good primary source material than from a national (international, too) of practitioners?

That sounds like fact checking to me, to see if the official figures and other media reports stand up to scrutiny.

 

[psafloyd]

And peoples opinions are often far from fact!!!!

Quite. But anecdotal evidence is useful in building a picture of what is going on.

 

[psafloyd]

You say paranoid, but perhaps he has experienced that.

I know someone who found a hive robbed of frames with bees taken. We assumed by going in and out with a box, anyone seeing them would assume they had business there. If challenged, they would only have to say the box is full of bees and few would assume anyone but the beekeeper was moving them.

I'm
making / modifying my own hives = more difficult to sell on different hive types;
adding a GPS Tracker into the wall of one hive, more than one is too expensive (linked to my phone);
placing a motion camera (with night vision) to keep an eye on the hives (linked to my phone);
clearly marking the standard hives I have, and marking them internally with a UV pen;
I think you all can tell I've been talking to a local beekeeper that is a bit paranoid, he claims to even have added little RFID's to one wall of all his hives and to one frame in each of the boxes, he has a device somewhere in his out apiary that detects their movement in case someone decides to just steal the frames of honey / bees! But I think he's going over the top with that one!

 

[psafloyd]

Have you considered the perception of increased thefts is not only due to interest in bees and the presence of social media, but the effect of insurance?

It is now much easier to insure apiaries for loss of equipment, and like it or not, this makes it a more important crime. They're all important to beekeeper, but insurance companies don't like paying out and want to ensure fraud is not driving claims. They will therefore demand more of policyholders leading to more vocal complaints and influence over authorities, making the crime more visible to police authorities.

Hi all,

I'm a student journalist at Cardiff University, and I'm currently working on an in-depth article for the Shorthand website regarding the recent spate of hive thefts over the past few years - in particular the theft of a million bees from Brackley bees in March. Now, I'm trying to do this with a greater degree of accuracy than the Daily Telegraph typically manages, so I would love to hear the opinions of the community as a whole rather than just one or two specific sources.

Specifically, what do you think has caused the recent rise in hive thefts? How do you think the thieves are most likely to sell their stolen property? And what measures are you taking to protect your hives (if any)?

Finally, as someone largely unfamiliar with the industry, I am curious: just how much are queen bees typically worth?

Any help you can provide, or other angles you think are worth exploring, would be really helpful. Thank you!

 

[mintmoth]

Reading through all the posts, it seems obvious to me that the thieves are, like all thieves, out to make an easy fast profit. They steal hives, strip off all the honey at the end of the season, no treatments, no winter feeding, no care at all - why should they care if those colonies die, when easy to steal colonies will be available again next spring.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Are there ANY convictions for this that anyone knows of, no matter how long ago?

One at least - ITTLD related the story on here a few years ago.

 

[Anduril]

My association had a talk by one of these guys, we were told to report hive thefts directly to them. http://www.nwcu.police.uk/find-your-local-police/ He accompanied John Rhys-Davies in a TV series.