Arabic version: سرقة خلايا نحل تضرب مربي النحل في أقصى شمال كوينزلاند

According to ABC News, police are investigating the theft of bees, frames and brood from 41 commercial hives at two Atherton Tablelands sites west of Cairns. The stolen colonies were valued at up to $20,000, with beekeepers also warning of lost pollination and honey income.

Commercial beekeeper Jack Laughton found 14 empty hives at a property in Kairi on September 10. Over the following two days, a further 27 hives were found empty at a property in Mutchilba. Each hive contained about 15,000 bees, bringing the total number of stolen bees to nearly 500,000.

Tom Bidner, who managed Mr Laughton’s hives, said the breeding system of each colony, including its queen, had been removed. He estimated the initial property loss at up to $20,000 and said as much as $10,000 in pollination income had also been lost, with potential effects during the next three to four months of honey production.

Detective Sergeant Ben Cross of the Mareeba Rural and Stock Crime Squad said investigators suspected an experienced semi-commercial or commercial beekeeper. He said hive thefts were uncommon but had happened before, and urged anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers.

Sergeant Cross said the losses could also affect farmers using commercial hives to pollinate horticultural crops. Mr Bidner said the thefts, alongside the recent detection of varroa mite in Far North Queensland, had created a “double whammy” for beekeepers.