Ontario beekeeper stung by late night hive heist

Debbie Hutchings tears up when she thinks about the theft of her honeybees.

"I've had a life with these bees," said Hutchings. "They came from England with my ancestors in 1848 and there's a long lineage of them and us. And these aren't just bees, they're our bees."

OnWednesday night,thieves stole $10,000 worth of honeybees from Hutchings'property inPortland, Ont., about 30 km southwest of Smiths Falls, Ont.

Hutchings,a fifth generation beekeeper whooperatesDebbee's Bees,says theculprits got away with more than just her insects.

"They had taken a bunch of my equipment and 10 big hives and the 16 nucs."Nucleus colonies or nucs are small bee colonies created from larger ones.

Hutchings now has about 30 large hives left which she will continue to useto breed more bees.

She said she doesn't believethe theft was committedby other beekeepers but suspects the thieves knew what they were doing.

"I think that there's maybe some rogue people who are taking the opportunity,who know about beekeeping [and]who've worked for beekeepers."

In June, thieves stole30 honeybee hivesfrom theMielsD'Anicetapiary inFerme-Neuve,Que.,and in December 2015,30,000 beeswerestolen from anOttawa field.

"I'm telling myself right now, it is what it is but you're no quitter and you're going to keep on going," said Hutchings, holding back tears."I have to kind of lay low and recoup for a while."

A valuablecommodity

Tibor Szabo, president of theOntario Beekeepers' Association, said honeybees are becoming avaluable commodity and thefts of hives do happen.

"There's a bigger demand for bees every year to help produce the food that require insect pollination. Nothing comes close to the honeybee for providing that service. They're rented from the beekeepers by the people that grow the crops."

Szabosaid the monetaryvalue of honeybees has also gone up because populations are shrinking.

"They are dying at a very alarming rate," saidSzabo,who blames the use of certain insecticidescommon in agriculture and horticulture.

"[Their]monetaryvalue has gone up in thepast few years."I would say they are at least double what they were just about four years ago," said Szabo.

Szabo said he doesn't believe theft is widespread, but beekeepers should still takeprecautions to protect their investment.

"Don't paint your hives a colour that people can see from far away. If they're attracting attention, it might not be good attention. Paint them a colour that blends into the environment."

Meanwhile, DebbieHutchingssaidRideau Lakes OPP arecurrentlyinvestigating the theft of her honeybees.She's called otherbeekeepers in the surrounding communities to warn them.