Eideard

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German beekeepers have begun installing satellite tracking systems in their hives as thefts of entire honeybee colonies are reported across the country.

Beehive banditry has now outstripped robberies of colour televisions and cars in some rural regions as bee populations have gone into sharp decline and the value of the honey producing insects has soared.

Gaede & Glauerdt, a Hamburg-based insurer specialising in apiculture, reported over 300 hive thefts last year, an 85 per cent increase.

This year’s long and harsh winter in Germany has decimated 30 per cent of colonies, making honeybees even more expensive and attractive to thieves. Germany’s Apicultural State Institute in Stuttgart has itself had 72 bee colonies stolen over the past few years.

A few weeks ago, the institute caught a 71-year-old apiarist from Baden-Wurttemberg in the act of bee burglary after installing hidden CCTV cameras in its hives.

Other beekeepers have fitted their hives with GPS devices to track bee bandits and to deter would be thieves.

Specialised hive theft has also become a problem in Japan following a similar decline in bee populations.

Last month, the Japanese Beekeeper and Honeybee Association warned its 2,000 members to be constantly on their guard against thieves after the theft of hundreds of thousands of insects.

So, if someone offers you a deal on bees, be certain you’re not buying stolen bees.

Poisonally, I can’t wait to try this. Especially, if and when Google is allowed to offer out-of-print books.