Feb 8, 2008 9:23 pm US/Pacific
Bee Hives Stolen, Costs Local Bee Keeper Thousands
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) ―
We all know bees make honey, but did you know how important bees are to everything else we grow and eat? Well for one farmer, his bees didn't just buzz off, they were taken.
"The pallets were sitting where the dry grass is, there was a pallet there, a pallet there," says bee keeper Michael Hall.
Stung by bee burglars, bee keeper Michael Hall isn't happy. 800 of is 7000 colonies were stolen just last night.
"These are tracks. I mean these bees were not loaded in a fork lift. These bees were strong armed onto the truck," explains Hall.
He was already buzzing because another 100 colonies were taken Monday not far down the road. The total loss - $100,000.
"Disgusting, really disgusting, this really hurts, I mean all I can do is get the word out there," says Hall.
Hall thinks the people who did this are bee keepers themselves. The reason, some bee farmers aren't able to keep up with the demand for colonies. Colony Collapse Disorder has become a recent problem. That means bees are dying due to illness. So the demand for bees is high during almond pollination season, but the supply is low.
"Everybody is losing bees with the Colony Collapse Disorder and its just kind of a ball and chain effect and it just keeps going on down the line. Now I can't fulfill my contracts because of this," Hall said.
Hall isn't the only one outraged. Other bee farmers' worry, they may be next.
"I feel that it's somebody who knows what they are doing. That knows how to handle bees and had the equipment to take them away," says Michael.
Bottom line, without the bees none of us could survive.
"If the vegetation doesn't get pollinated we're not here," concludes Michael.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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