Isha Sesay
AN APPEAL has been made to catch the individual or group behind the theft of 21 beehives in Mallorca.
Mel Vici de Alaro, an island born company that produces and sells honey, revealed that their beehives had been stolen from a farm in Petra.
The bees had been taking part in an important environmental project where they were pollinating almond trees planted on the land.
Owner Pau Queralt estimates the theft to be of at least €15,000 and said that ‘the thieves knew what they were doing’ as they took off with the heaviest hives.
“Each box contains essential information for monitoring the swarm, such as how long it has been active or the type of bee that it contains,” explained Queralt.
Policia Local say the thieves carried out their theft with ‘precision’, undertaking the theft in the dead of night using a truck.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the police.
In recent years, pollination has become big business in Spain and thieves are now targeting hives with growing sophistication.
Just this week, a man was arrested for stealing bees from their hives in the Murcia region and then selling them around the country.
Guardia Civil said the man struck at night and coaxed the bees out of their hives into a container that had a queen bee already in it to tempt them inside.
READ MORE:
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- HAPPY BEE-DAY: Bees are disappearing across the planet and Spain, could we be on the brink of ecological Armageddon?
