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Thread: Bee thefts at Coupar Angus

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    Administrator gavin's Avatar
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    Default Bee thefts at Coupar Angus


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    Senior Member HJBee's Avatar
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    Was just about to post this myself. It's getting more prolific. I suppose there are bad people on all walks of life - you just wouldn't think a proper bee keeper would do this. Maybe the ones I know are too nice!

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    Strange they stole the queens, bees & frames but seem to have left the hives (or were they just padding the report?).
    Stealing the hives would have been less work, and hives make excellent kindling.
    Though there are tracking systems for complete hives available these days.

    I am seriously thinking of buying a "wildlife camera" when they are on sale again at Aldi...

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    I imagine they took complete colonies and the reporter just misunderstood. No thief would have time to go through colonies and pick out the queens, surely?

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    Senior Member HJBee's Avatar
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    We had experience of a theft this time last year in Renfrewshire. The week before someone had opened them all up and gone through them (strapping & roofs not on right was the clue) we thought it was just someone being nosey until a hive then disappeared, best colony, oldest hive parts.

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    Hi there, the emba apiary had queens stolen last year, it's very sad to think a fellow beekeeper would do such a thing, we struggle will varroa and diseases get them through a long wet spring only for someone to pinch them.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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    Its a terrible thing indeed.
    Hive theft is not uncommon here in Germany, what can you really say - there is a normial (?) distribution of theives in every population.
    An over supply of colonies and quality stock would aleviate the motivation to some extent.

    The worst are the beekeepers that steal hives every year, they dont treat for varroa, they don't feed the colony going into the winter, they just steal another hive or two for the honey it will produce.... Every year...

    Like I said, these are on sale from time to time in Aldi - I'll be buying one the next time they are in stock...

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    Administrator gavin's Avatar
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    I'm tempted to invest in one of these, but do you point it at the apiary, or likely parking areas? The trouble is if a beekeeper approaches the hives with felony in mind they're quite likely to be already wearing the usual disguise we all indulge in.

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    Administrator gavin's Avatar
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    I haven't spoken to Murray but the Dundee Evening Telegraph tells all (Denrosa, not Benrosa, and I'm not sure that Murray still trades under that name).

    http://www.eveningtelegraph.co.uk/ne...-bees-1.334879

    Perthshire police are on the hunt for some honey-loving thieves who made off with over £1000 of bees.

    The raiders made off with six queen bees, a large number of working bees and 18 honeycomb frames from Balgrove Farm at the weekend.

    The hives are owned by Coupar Angus-based company Benrosa that has bee farms at more than 100 locations across Perthshire, Angus and Aberdeenshire.

    The total value of the theft is estimated to be between £1,000 and £1,500.

    Murray McGregor, owner of Benrosa, said: “A team was installing some new colonies at the farm on Friday. When I saw them on Sunday morning they didn’t look correct.

    “When I investigated the hives I discovered that some of the bees and colonies had been stolen. A colony of bees is currently worth around £150 but these are specialist queen bees which are worth a bit extra.

    “Bee thefts are almost always carried out by other beekeepers looking to fill their own hives. It is a specialist job and not something you can sell on round the pub. You would need specialist equipment. An ordinary person would have no idea.”

    A Police Scotland spokesman said: “Police Scotland is appealing for information after bees were stolen from a farm in Coupar Angus, Perthshire, some time between 11am on Saturday, April 19 and 12pm on Sunday, April 20. Anyone with information that may be useful should contact Police Scotland Tayside Division on 101 or alternatively information can be passed anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 11.”

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    what disguise?

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