Stolen 800,000 bees: bee scandal erupts in Australia

Tom Bidner, a beekeeper from the Atherton Plateau west of Cairns, said 44 bee colonies had been stolen from three different beekeepers. "It's not over yet," he said. - We need to check on so many families. We are still going around and checking all our different points.” According to his estimates, each hive had at least 20,000 bees, and a total of more than 800,000.

The alleged thefts took place on several different farms in different areas and required a sophisticated approach and special equipment. Instead of risking early detection and stealing the entire box, the attackers took out the so-called nesting case. Because of this, the beehive looks unchanged. The thieves also did not take the honey that remained in the hive. Bidner suspects that the culprits are probably people from the industry itself.

"They essentially come with a truck of gear and put our frames in their drawers ... and then collect our hives back so that the manufacturers don't suspect that anyone has been there and done this," Bidner said.

The beekeepers lost not only the stolen insects, he said, but also the cost of pollination contracts that can reach thousands of dollars. The manufacturer will also suffer losses due to reduced flower quality. Bidner said it was the biggest theft in his memory, though far from the first.

"In terms of safety, in the past we've allowed bees to do most of the work ... from time to time, of course, it happens that someone is trying to damage the hive," he said. They usually take about 30 seconds and run away.

Detective Sergeant Ben Cross of the Marib Rural and Livestock Crime Unit told the ABC he also considered the culprit a "commercial farmer" rather than an amateur.