MIKE HEATH

STANDARDS

NGSS: Core Idea: LS2.A

CCSS: Writing: 3

TEKS: 6.12D, 7.12A, 8.2E, B.10B, B.12A, E.4G

Sting Operation

Bee thefts are on the rise in California. What’s behind the crime wave?

AS YOU READ, THINK ABOUT why farmers depend on bees to grow certain crops.

Kamron Koehnen had been robbed. During the night, thieves had snuck onto his property in Ord Bend, California, and made off with more than $2,000 worth of loot. The crooks hadn’t stolen money, electronics, or jewelry—they’d snatched 14 boxes of live honeybees. “Each of those hives was worth about $150,” says Koehnen.

Koehnen’s family has been raising bees for generations. They also grow almonds, a crop that depends on the bees for pollination. The bees visit the family’s almond flowers to drink their sweet nectar. As they do, powdery pollen grains get stuck to the bees’ fuzzy legs and transferred between flowers. That allows the trees to make the nuts they need to reproduce. Farmers harvest these nuts for people to eat (see Pollination 101).

SCOTT SMITH/AP PHOTO

WORKER BEES: Commercial hives are made up of stacked wooden boxes containing removable frames on which bees build honeycombs.

Farmers who don’t raise their own bees rent hives to pollinate their crops. As a result, hive thefts have become a huge issue. Thieves nab the bees and then rent out their pollination services to make a quick buck. With rental fees per hive reaching about $200, a farmer can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on bees per year. “A lot of people don’t understand why someone would want to steal beehives,” says Rowdy Jay Freeman, a beekeeper and deputy sheriff in Butte County, California. “It’s all about money.”

Freeman and other California rural crime investigators are working to crack down on the increasing number of hive thefts. But it’s not an easy job. Officers must rely on tips from members of the community and the few clues left at crime scenes—both of which would prove vital in solving Koehnen’s case.

IMPORTANT INSECTS

Honeybees pollinate about a third of the produce people eat, from apples to zucchini. Beekeepers truck their bees all over the U.S. to pollinate crops during different parts of the year. California’s almond season lasts for about four weeks in February and March. During that time, an estimated 85 percent of all honeybees raised in the U.S. help pollinate more than 1 million acres of almond trees in bloom.

Almonds are a valuable crop, and their production has soared in recent years. Beekeepers have struggled to supply enough bees for farmers’ needs. Along with growing demand, beekeepers face new challenges in maintaining healthy hives (see Inside a Hive). Bee colonies are increasingly being devastated by diseases, parasites like mites, and toxic pesticides. Now, on top of these issues, comes a growing wave of thefts.

CRACKING THE CASE

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It’s often impossible for police to catch hive-stealing crooks, since they’re quick to hide evidence of their crimes. The thieves sand off and paint over owners’ personal brands or unique registration numbers burned into the wood on bee boxes. Then thieves can pass the hives off as their own. Thankfully in Koehnen’s case, officers had a lead. The crooks had left behind an important clue when they fled the scene: tire tracks. The marks indicated that the thieves’ getaway vehicle had been pulling a small trailer. And it just so happened that a local citizen had reported seeing a suspicious trailer stacked with bee boxes in front of a house in the nearby town of Biggs.

Deputy Freeman visited the house. He noticed that some of the boxes were still branded with “42-14,” identifying them as Koehnen’s. The trailer was also attached to a Jeep Wrangler with tires that matched the tracks found at the crime scene. Freeman questioned the suspects at the house, who claimed they’d bought the bees from someone else and didn’t know they were stolen. Based on the evidence, Freeman didn’t think they were telling the truth. He arrested them and took them to jail. They were charged with possession of stolen property.

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FARMERS’ FRIENDS: Beekeepers release bees into almond orchards to help the plants produce almonds.

Koehnen was angry about the theft, but also grateful that more of his hives hadn’t been stolen. “A while back, we got hit by thieves who stole 240 hives,” he says. “That was a bad year.” Between 2014 and 2017, California experienced a surge in bee-related crimes. Hundreds of hives were being swiped at a time in different locations. Officers thought someone had to be coordinating the heists.

In 2017, not too long after that year’s almond bloom, detectives in Fresno received a report about a vacant lot on the outskirts of the city littered with bee boxes of different colors, shapes, and brands. The officers investigated and arrested a man at the scene. After following additional leads in the case, they tracked down more than 2,500 stolen beehives worth an estimated $875,000. Some of the recovered equipment was labeled with Koehnen’s brand. “We got about 80 of our hives back,” he says.

CATCHING FUTURE CROOKS

Despite some convictions, beehive theft continues to grow, says Freeman. “As long as the pollination fees are high, people will steal bees.” He advises beekeepers to mark hives with a state registration number, their company’s name, and a phone number.

Koehnen has gone a step further, tagging his bee boxes with tiny GPS trackers. These devices use satellite networks to provide information about the hives’ location. If moved, the hives’ trackers send Koehnen a text notification. “He’s on guard every night during bee season,” says his wife, Julie. “He keeps his phone on the nightstand. If it goes off while we’re sleeping, we know someone’s stealing.”

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CRIME SCENE: Officer Freeman examines tire tracks on Koehnen’s property left by the bee thieves’ getaway vehicle.

Police are turning to the same technology to aid their investigations. They plan to start tagging bee boxes in vulnerable areas with GPS trackers. They’re also going to spray the boxes with a solution that dries clear but glows fluorescent green when viewed under a special light. “The hope is that when the thieves steal the bait, the tracker sends an alert to our phone, and we track them down to their location,” says Freeman. “Then we shine the light on the stolen equipment, and it illuminates.” With this approach, they may be able to catch the crooks red-handed. Hopefully, this kind of sting operation will teach bee-nappers that stealing hives doesn’t pay.

CONSTRUCTING EXPLANATIONS: How does a rise in beehive thefts affect beekeepers and farmers, and even what you eat?

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