Sting with a twist: Thieves cashing in with stolen beehives

Thieves have been cashing in on the increasingly lucrative hobby of beekeeping by snatching entire hives – worth hundreds of pounds in some cases.

New figures show that hundreds of thousands of bees have been taken from apiaries across England and Wales since 2011 – with West Mercia Police receiving the joint-highest number of reports.

Since 2011, a total of 14 beehives have been stolen across the force area.

Telford-based beekeeper Alison Wakeman, who runs Alison’s Bee Class and uses her bees as an educational tool, says a good colony of bees can be worth more than £500.

“I’ve only been aware of one incident in the last couple of years but beehive thefts do happen,” she said “The worst thing about it is it’s got to be other beekeepers. You’ve got to know what you’re doing.

“You need to have the correct equipment. It’s got to be people that know what they’re doing. If a normal person went to a beehive and went to steal a hive they’re likely to pick up the wrong piece then the bees are likely to come out.

“In terms of value, if I was asked how much one of mine cost – with a good colony in the summer it would be around £500.

“The equipment itself and the actual bees have a lot of value especially for a good and productive colony.”

Queen bees of certain strains can fetch up to £180, fuelling speculation that the price tag has motivated the surge in thefts.

The highest marked theft in the UK was as high as £8,000 for just one hive.

Meanwhile, president of the Shropshire Beekeepers’ Association, Brian Goodwin believes there has been a “tremendous” rise in thefts in the county in the past three years.

He puts it down to the increasing value of bees.

“It doesn’t surprise me,” he said. “It’s all to do with the increasing value of bees.

“There have been several in the last year and more particularly the last three years. It’s always been a problem but has increased tremendously because the value has increased. The worrying thing is the theft is being carried out by beekeepers. It’s not the kind of thing that members of the public could do.

“It’s not a widespread problem but it has happened in Shropshire and Powys.

“One of the things we’re advising is marking the hives. We’re branding them on the outside so it’s obvious that they’re branded.

“There is a Government inspection service for bees where once every three years inspectors come round and inspect hives – branding would mean they would be able identify if they had been stolen.

Estimates of the number of beekeepers are difficult to assess, but can be conservatively put at around 30,000 in England and Wales.