Stolen Bees

[dback]

Probably going to happen a lot this year.......

Friend of mine had 168 taken in the Bakersfield area yesterday. Brand is CHC.......every box and frame are branded. Ten frame, white, deep and a half equipment all in very good shape. If anyone runs across that brand, PM me and I'll put you in touch with him.

[Honey-4-All]

Probably going to happen a lot this year.......

Friend of mine had 168 taken in the Bakersfield area yesterday. Brand is CHC.......every box and frame are branded. Ten frame, white, deep and a half equipment all in very good shape. If anyone runs across that brand, PM me and I'll put you in touch with him.

With all the ropes owned by all the bee guys it seems like a risky proposition to be trying dumb things like this. Every bee guy needs to keep his eyes open, shotgun loaded and large limb on the tall oak tree all primed up.

[BeeGhost]

Seen some double deep ten framers on Craigslist out of Sacramento, the $100 price tag is throwing a flag to me.

I said before bees were even being staged that there would be a lot of hives stolen and I got a lashing for saying that, it's only common sense, and with a shortage of bees and higher prices, I imagine maybe even more than usual this year.

Went to the foothills today to look at 4-h project goats and seen a lot of boxes, but most were deep in the orchards. Might have even seen Jarrets boxes, only blue boxes I seen today!

[JRG13]

That's no good, were they taken out of an orchard or staging area? Will keep a look out up here, but doubt they would bring them this far.

[jip]

Seems like pollinators cannot find bees this season for the almonds. Some pollinators contacted me to see if I had bees for sale. Guess they found some in Bakersfield. ;-)

[Keith Jarrett]

I got a lashing for saying that, Jarrets boxes, only blue boxes I seen today!

BG, I read that thread that you took a lashing over.... I should did not see anything wrong with your post, I always enjoy the other persons veiw.
Blue boxes.... got some over by you on HWY 33. enjoy the bloom.

[Keith Jarrett]

. Brand is CHC.......every box and frame are branded..

Will keep an put the word out up here Larry.

[dback]

Thanks Keith.....
Yes, they were already in the orchard......someone came in and took an entire middle row out of the center of the orchard is my understanding. These are not the first I've heard of this year but it is the largest number and I didn't have details on the others. I spoke with another friend yesterday (I won't mention his name until he gives me permission) that says he is going to post a site listing all the stolen bees he knows of so folks can watch for different brands.......I don't know if this site would consider doing the same.

[jim lyon]

Some net savvy person needs to come up with a centralized internet lost/found/stolen "bulletin board" linked to grower websites for maximum viewing. Pretty good chance some grower may have already unknowingly found a home for them at top dollar. Could Beesource create such a forum and would Blue Diamond agree to provide a direct link to that forum in their pollination section? Just thinking.

[dback]

That's exactly what I was thinking.......it's great that other beekeepers are aware and looking but the almond grower would be the premier line of defense.

[sqkcrk]

And responsibility, if those hives are on their property. What sorts of contractural agreements are there between beekeeper and almond grower as to the security of hives in the groves?

[jim lyon]

Let's not forget that it is a crime to possess stolen property. Of course, in reality, such a charge would only be pursued if there was evidence of complicity by the property owner.

[cg3]

Plus, the grower might be reluctant to report anything until after pollination.

[Barry]

I'm open/interested in forming a network to help with lost/found/stolen hives, but I'd be surprised if you could get all interested parties to work together. Prove me wrong!

[jim lyon]

Educate us a bit here Barry. If a specific forum was established on here where stolen hives could be reported complete with photos and as much supporting identification as possible. Would the main complication be to get another site (such as Blue Diamond) to agree to post a forum link on their site or is there a broader picture that I am not seeing here? CG3 does bring up a very good point though. There isnt a lot of incentive for a grower to play detective if the result might be losing the hives that they just paid for.

[dback]

Yep......it'd be one thing if it was Paramount but altogether different if it's a grower with an 80 and is going to lose his entire load of pollinators.

[Barry]

Educate us a bit here Barry.

I think it's a case where every party doesn't have the same level of interest or need. What would help one party may not be so helpful to another, or have a negative result, as described above.

[jim lyon]

I understand Barry, what I was reaching for was if there were any complications from a technical or even legal standpoint. Another thought is that, at least in the big picture, there should be a great deal of interest among the growers to cut down on any trafficking of illegal bees that goes on because it adversely affects their growers in two ways. In this case someone lost some of the bees they had contracted for and secondly, the fear of theft is a major reason some beekeepers are hesitant to haul their bees out there.

[Barry]

Once I had an understanding how this sort of thing needed to work, I would be better able to answer the technical and legal question.

[HarryVanderpool]

I think that rule #1 sould be that stolen hive threads could only be started in 1st person.
If the individual is not a member of Beesource, then they would need to sign up and post about stolen hives in there own words.
That qualifies as obvious consent and assigns fault for any accuracy problems.
Full contact information should also be posted.
Just put it all right out in plain sight, up front to show that they are earnest.
Give the option also of posting law enforcement contact info that are on the case for anonymous tips.
Book 'em, Danno!