Bees for Development Journal 128 September 2018
Beekeepers, burglars and manuka honey Noel Sweeney The classic image of beekeepers as portrayed by painters is of a solitary folk engaged in quietly tending to their contented charges. Beekeepers are portrayed as people who are immersed in an activity that arouses their senses, so they can produce honey for the community. Beekeepers are seen to be caring, while willingly sharing their knowledge and passion with any curious neighbour and passing stranger.
Burglars
Some bees are robbers and steal the honey from under the wings of unsuspecting bees. Though they know it happens, that kind of behaviour is an anathema to an honest beekeeper. For above all the one thing a beekeeper is richer in than honey - is honesty.
On the tiny island of Anglesey, off the coast of North Wales (UK), Felin Honeybees, a farm and education centre, was burgled twice in 2015. For many beekeepers including the owner Katie Hayward, the truth cannot be denied: the burglars are experienced
While that may be one side of the common currency of the beekeeping fraternity, the other side of the coin is revealing and not quite so appealing. Some beekeepers now display that ugly grasping side of robber bees and practise avarice and indolence to steal honey from other industrious beekeepers. A few examples will illustrate the burglars that now pose problems for the police and fellow beekeepers. Thieves are hijacking hives, then renting the bees and queens out to farmers to pollinate their crops. With the global collapse of the bee population from disease and the prevalent use of mass pesticide, the crime is becoming lucrative.
Photo © Franc Sivic
One million honey bees were stolen from Beekeeper Honey, a family-run UK business. This is thought to be the largest theft of its kind
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