Half-a-million honey bees burn to death after hives lit on fire, Texas beekeeper says

A Texas beekeeper estimates that half-a-million honey bees were killed over the weekend when someone dumped and destroyed bee hive boxes before setting them on fire, according to the Houston Chronicle.

“Vandalism is one thing,” Brazoria County Beekeepers Association president Steven Brackmann said, according to the Chronicle. “But for someone to go in and spend their time dumping over those hives and lighting them on fire ... I think it’s someone that doesn’t like beekeepers or bees.”

Now, the Brazoria County Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons responsible for the beehive destruction. The Brazoria County Beekeepers Association is offering an additional $1,000, totaling a $6,000 reward.

Crime Stoppers say that a Brazoria County Patrol Deputy responded to the rural scene “in the early morning hours of April 27.” When the deputy arrived in the 700 block of County Road 194, several boxes were burning, according to a Facebook post. The county is located south of the Houston metropolitan area.

The deputy put out the flames, but “several thousand dollars of damage (had) already been done to the boxes,” Crime Stoppers said in the statement posted to Facebook.

The bees that were killed were in a beekeeping hobbyist’s yard, according to the Brazoria County Beekeepers Association.

“Its bad enough to think in todays world this would happen but dumping them over and then setting fire to them is beyond comprehension,” the association said in a different post.

“I broke down in tears when I saw a floating brood frame in the water with bees still caring for the brood,” the post continued. A brood refers to the eggs, larvae and pupae.

The beekeepers say the bees that survived are recovering, but they are stressed, according to the Facebook post.

“Pray that the queens are still there in the remaining colonies,” the association asked.

“ ... but the queens were probably killed, which means those that survived have nowhere to go,” Brackmann said, according to KTRK

The Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the crime as arson and criminal mischief, according to Crime Stoppers.

While they deal with the loss, the beekeepers are using this opportunity to educate others about the importance of honey bees.

“Beekeepers try to make a positive impact on their community,” a Facebook post from the association says. “Keeping bees supports not only the environment in the form of pollination, but helps protect and preserve bees for years to come.”

This story was originally published May 1, 2019 at 12:27 PM.