Beehive bandit makes off with 57 hives, leaves Alberta beekeeper feeling 'helpless'

An Alberta beekeeper says he's feeling "helpless" after 57 of his beehives were stolen from several locations in Foothills County.

Jon Zwiers, who owns Honey Meadows Farm, said he visited four bee yards this week and hives were missing from each location.

He said about $30,000 worth of bees and equipment is gone.

"It's definitely rattling because we don't know who's doing it and we don't know when it will stop. You feel helpless because this is our livestock and we don't have any answers," he said.

Zwiers believes the hives were stolen between April 17 and April 30.

"We're not sure yet how we'll replace them because my hope is that still someone comes forward and says, 'I made a mistake,' and returns them.… We're just trying to make an honest living."

In addition to honey production, the missing bees were important for pollination in the area, according to Zwiers, who lives about 15 kilometres southeast of Calgary. 

His family has been keeping bees for 40 years and has never before been targeted by such large-scale theft, he said.

Zwiers posted about the missing bees on social media and said the messages of support he received have provided a much-needed boost.

"It was almost emotional, too," said Zwiers. "I've never been faced with this magnitude of an issue. And so it was heartstring-pulling."

He believes another beekeeper is responsible for the thefts because a non-beekeeper wouldn't appreciate the hives' value or know what to do with them. 

Whoever took the bees likely passed through a closed gate onto clearly marked private land to access at least one of the bee yards, he said.

Bee theft is uncommon in the province, according to Alberta Beekeepers Commission president Curtis Miedema, but not unheard of. 

"It has happened in the past, where bee hives have gone missing. I mean, usually on a smaller scale," he said. "This is fairly uncommon to hear of such a big theft."

"As beekeepers, it's definitely something that's a bit alarming, because we are fairly exposed that way. Our bee hives are out of different people's fields."

To keep their hives safe, Miedema said beekeepers can install tracking devices on or inside their hives, but those products come at a cost, and can also be stolen, he said.

High River RCMP have confirmed they're investigating what happened to the Honey Meadows Farm bees.

Zwiers is asking anyone who sees a large number of beehives appear in a new location to contact police.