Ottawa bee keepers ask for help after holiday hive heist

It's a holiday heist that has an Ontario community buzzing withdisbelief.

Two sizable hives holding some 30,000 bees were stolen froma field in Kanata, and the couple that cares for them isasking for the public's help in finding whoever is responsible.

Marianne Gee and her husband run the Gees Bees Honey Company,which rents bee hives to business in the capital region.

A real estate company, Minto Group, rented two hives from thecouple as part of its efforts to help the declining honey beepopulation in the area.

When Gee and her husband went to conduct a regular check on thehives on Boxing Day, they found that the large wooden structureswere missing, as were the bees living inside them.

"Both hives, the entire boxes, the bees, everything, they hadbeen carried down quite a big hill," said Gee. "You could seefootprints in the mud where someone had walked up and taken them andleft. And they would have had to have left in a truck or trailer."

Concern over well-being of bees

The beige hives, with blue and white Minto logos on their sides,probably weighed about 34 kilograms, said Gee, and likely couldn'tbe carried too far.

While the financial loss of the missing hives about $400 to$500 each isn't a huge one, Gee and her husband are more concernedabout the well-being of the bees.

If the hive is moved in the winter, that cluster can get shakenapart and the bees can very quickly freeze.- Marianne Gee

"Bee keepers don't move their bees in the winter," she said,explaining that bees cluster in a ball around the queen bee duringcold weather, vibrating their wings for warmth.

"If the hive is moved in the winter, that cluster can get shakenapart and the bees can very quickly freeze."

Gee also noted that there would be just enough honey in the hivefor the bees to get through the winter, but not enough to harvest.

Police report filed

The couple has filed a police report and has asked Ottawa arearesidents to report any sightings of the hives.

"We were definitely shocked that they disappeared," said Gee."I've never heard of someone in Ottawa or Ontario having bee hivesstolen."

Whoever made away with the hives likely knows something aboutbees or is interest in bee keeping, Gee added.

"We're hoping someone in Ottawa has seen someone acquire brandnew beehives," she said. "It's really quite bizarre to me."

Despite the bewildering loss of their hives, Gee says she and herhusband have been heartened by many Ottawa residents reaching out tothem over the incident and helping to spread the word.

"I think there's a lot of good-hearted people out there," shesaid. "That's been heartwarming to see that sort of response fromthe community."

Ontario has seen a decline in its bee population over the pastfew years due to a variety of causes including weather patternchanges and use of pesticides.