Theft!!!!!

[EmsE]

Went along to my apiary today to give a practical lesson to some beginners. We were horrified to discover one of my hives has been stolen!! (this is where we need an in tears smilie)

The colony they chose was the strongest one in the apiary on a single brood. I didn't think any more of it over a month ago when someone had a nosey in my hive, but was that really someone dissing them out to see which was best to take?

The rest are being moved this evening- I'm not risking another disappearing.

Besides that, the class went well.

[gavin]

B&%$£@ds. Don't know what to say - it hasn't happened to me yet but we all live in fear of it. I try to keep my apiary location relatively private but it is hard to achieve when you start showing people your bees. Had seven folk round at mine this afternoon. At least I know that people look out over my apiary (from a distance) and notice anything unusual.

[EmsE]

Well, The bees have now being moved- necessary for a good nights sleep. Today was the first time I have taken or disclosed my apiary site position to anyone apart from the 2 Beekeepers I have been mentoring and our local secretary. My husband didn't even know where my bees were until he had his first visit there only a couple of weeks ago. The farm workers have been great and have been keeping an eye on them but people do pass by on the path on the other side of the field when they go fishing, but it is 1/4 mile up the farm track behind a locked gate. The bees are now sited somewhere that has much better security. We've since found out that a beekeeper in the Peeblesshire Beekeepers association has also had a hive stolen. When I phoned the police, they indicated that they had information on another hive being stolen.

[The Drone Ranger]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening...-of-socks.html
Lets see them make of with one of these

[Trog]

I'm very sorry to hear this. Some beekeepers here have all their hive parts (not sure if that also includes frames) branded using a hot branding iron. I think it's possible to buy such a thing, made up with appropriate initials and heated with a blowtorch.

Maybe a notice in the mag might alert folk to the fact that there are stolen hives out there? Someone might notice something.

[Bumble]

It's a wicked thing to do.

It's no consolation EmsE, but they're stealing bees in North Wales too http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...0-insects.html

[greengumbo]

Ugh that is terrible. The fact that it sounds like a beekeeper who knew what to look for is even more galling. Hope the new site is better.

[The Drone Ranger]

Not recommending but tracking mobile phone software is available for example http://www.mobilelocate.co.uk/?gclid...FXDMtAodRzoA5g

[gavin]

You would hope that there would be some hi-tech tracking aid, but a fully charged mobile phone hidden in every hive doesn't sound like the answer. Maybe one day the bee inspectorate could chip every hive they come across? (Anyone making off with our kitten had better never take her to a vet again!).

There are some places where there has been such a thieving problem intermittently over several years, presumably when some incompetent and &%$£#@@!! beekeeper loses their bees again. A certain large beekeeper near me has had whole apiaries stolen - in one case a visit to an east coast beekeeper discovered frame nails and wire in a bonfire in his yard. Another apiary disappeared from one site without trace, possibly shipped off to another part of the UK. There was also the case of the Dundee researcher losing bees from a very public site. With about 6-10 hives myself it would be easy for a thief to make off with the lot, and although my main site has been chosen to be out of view of passing public and hard of access, it is very public at times and hundreds of people will know by know that there are bees there. The association apiary is another site that people get to know about, and the late summer upland apiary is very public.

Both main sites have sympathetic people seeing the apiary from their windows and who would not hesitate to set the dogs on intruders and call the police. However losing the bees would be disastrous in either case.

There are companies selling branding irons, eg: http://www.mshaw.co.uk/brands.htm

They are expensive if you have one made to your own specifications (I saw £200+ for another company). However the outer hive boxes are easily disposed of - what thief in his right mind would hang on to them? So I simply write on the top of every brood frame at the association apiary with a black Magic Marker the 4 letters for the local association. The boxes get the same internally. When we sell bees the new owners will carry that mark for a few years but at least we will have records of who received our bees so no-one should worry about being falsely accused of receiving stolen goods. Some of my own frames are also marked, but Ems' experience is making me consider marking every one of my brood frames with my current postcode. Anyone stealing bees on marked frames has a real problem hiding all the traces. Of course there are ways of moving the bees onto new frames, and I do know of people who had sets of favoured queens stolen, but that sort of marking must discourage many thieves and leave evidence in other cases for bee inspectors to see.

I'd really like to see some prosecutions and individuals publically named and shamed. We all need to rid the beekeeping community of this kind of thing. I'll bet that someone locally has some suggestions for who may have taken yours Ems. Perhaps it is worth chatting to a local long-established, well-connected beekeeper, preferably with letters after his name, if you have not already done so.

One day I'll get one of those wildlife tracking movement-activated cameras and set that up at my apiary. Then the difficulty will be identifying the thief in a bee suit ....

[prakel]

Not recommending but tracking mobile phone software is available for example http://www.mobilelocate.co.uk/?gclid...FXDMtAodRzoA5g

ICKO (France) sell RFID tags and yearly registration...

Beetracking 100 chips

Ref. & NbspDI900

Protect your hive against theft.
Lot 100 RFID tags to
mark your hives.
Fleas can be hidden
in the timber, embedded in wax or
simply glued on a frame.
They allow authentication
and the hive can be placed
blacklisted immediately after signaling a flight.
The cost of the chip is 1.08 €.
The pack includes 100 chips, 5 outdoor stickers
deterrent Apiary supervised BEETRACKING ", 12 months
subscription to beetracking.com services. "

Not sure why something similar isn't available in the UK, the pricing shared between association members or groups of friends would possibly be a great investment.