NorCal Thieves Steal 190,000 Bees Meant To Pollinate Almond Trees
YUBA CITY (KCBS) – Someone has stolen nearly 500 beehives from a Montana beekeeper who was transporting them to California to pollinate almond trees.
According to the Great Falls Tribune, Lloyd Cunniff said it appeared the thieves used semitrailers to steal about 190,000 bees sometime between Monday night and Tuesday morning in Yuba City.
Cunniff said he was storing the bees on a fellow beekeeper's property before moving them to Fresno, where he had a contract to pollinate almond trees.
The beekeeper said the theft will cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars in income, even though the hives were insured.
Other beekeepers have reported thefts, as well.
Beekeepers are also assisting the Sutter County sheriff's department in a search for the missing hives.