Photo Gallery Have You Seen These Bees?
Forget cars or televisions, bee theft is on the rise in Germany. Experts suspect that the long, hard winter, during which up to a third of existing bee colonies perished, may be to blame for the fact that apiarists are stealing from one another. One unlucky bee thief was even caught in a camera trap.
According to the Hamburg-based insurance firm Gaede & Glauerdt, which underwrites apiarists, the number of thefts reported nationwide rose from 164 in 2007 to 306 in 2008.
Foto: ALI JAREKJI/ REUTERS
Some apiarists have taken to using honeycombs in unique sizes so that their bees cannot be so easily placed into other hives.
Foto: Dan Kitwood/ Getty Images
Other apiarists have installed GPS devices in their bee hives so that they can track the colonies' whereabouts online, in case of theft.
Foto: DARREN STAPLES/ REUTERS
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