More than 800,000 bees were reportedly stolen from hives on multiple North Queensland properties in suspected coordinated raids. Police say the perpetrator may be an experienced commercial beekeeper; beekeepers report losses to hive value and pollination income.
Tom Bidner told ABC that 44 colonies belonging to three beekeepers had been taken. Jack Laughton found 14 empty hives on his Kairi property on Sept. 10, and 27 more empty hives turned up at another property over the next two days. Bidner estimated hive losses of up to $20,000 and lost pollination income of up to $10,000.
Reports say the alleged thief removed brood-box frames, where bees raise their young, and used specialized equipment, leaving hive structures that looked intact from a distance. Beekeepers are also facing the threat of varroa mites, first detected in the area weeks earlier; Bidner said none had yet been detected in his colonies.
