A beekeeper in the Oakland Hills area of California fell victim to the increasing crime rate in the region, as thieves made off with one of her bee colonies, including the queen.
The theft occurred around 10 a.m. on April 27, just minutes before Sue Donahue was set to host her usual honey-tasting event for children in the neighborhood. At the time, she had briefly returned indoors to fetch the honey after setting up a hive in front of her home.
“I heard somebody say, ‘Oh hey! Free bees!’ And then a moment passed, and I heard a car door close,” Ms. Donahue told CBS News Bay Area. “And I came up with the cases of honey and I saw the empty table.”
Approximately 30,000 bees were living in that colony, she told the news outlet.
However, Ms. Donahue said, the loss extends beyond just the bees; it’s also a setback for the children who were supposed to learn about honey making.
“When [the kids] asked me, ‘Where are the bees?’ and I had to tell them that they were taken, the bewilderment on their face,“ she said. ”That was really heartbreaking to me. That I’m teaching them about theft and not about where their food comes from.”
Ms. Donahue said that what worries her more is that such crime does not seem to have an end in sight.
“It’s not a one-off. This happens all the time. There’s no consequence and there’s not a huge or big enough police presence to be a visual deterrent,” Ms. Donahue told the news outlet. “And even if they were caught, I don’t know that much happens.”
This is only one of numerous cases where bees have been stolen.
Just last month, nearly 200 beehives were stolen from a ranch in Fresno County.
Such losses can have significant impacts not only on beekeepers but also on farmers and growers, as bees play a crucial role in pollinating crops like almond trees.
Under California law, because honeybees are classified as livestock, stealing them is considered a felony.
