# Stolen Bees



## dback (Jan 8, 2012)

Probably going to happen a lot this year.......

Friend of mine had 168 taken in the Bakersfield area yesterday. Brand is CHC.......every box and frame are branded. Ten frame, white, deep and a half equipment all in very good shape. If anyone runs across that brand, PM me and I'll put you in touch with him.


----------



## Honey-4-All (Dec 19, 2008)

dback said:


> Probably going to happen a lot this year.......
> 
> Friend of mine had 168 taken in the Bakersfield area yesterday. Brand is CHC.......every box and frame are branded. Ten frame, white, deep and a half equipment all in very good shape. If anyone runs across that brand, PM me and I'll put you in touch with him.


With all the ropes owned by all the bee guys it seems like a risky proposition to be trying dumb things like this. Every bee guy needs to keep his eyes open, shotgun loaded and large limb on the tall oak tree all primed up.:shhhh:


----------



## BeeGhost (May 7, 2011)

Seen some double deep ten framers on Craigslist out of Sacramento, the $100 price tag is throwing a flag to me.

I said before bees were even being staged that there would be a lot of hives stolen and I got a lashing for saying that, it's only common sense, and with a shortage of bees and higher prices, I imagine maybe even more than usual this year.

Went to the foothills today to look at 4-h project goats and seen a lot of boxes, but most were deep in the orchards. Might have even seen Jarrets boxes, only blue boxes I seen today!


----------



## JRG13 (May 11, 2012)

That's no good, were they taken out of an orchard or staging area? Will keep a look out up here, but doubt they would bring them this far.


----------



## jip (Apr 10, 2009)

Seems like pollinators cannot find bees this season for the almonds. Some pollinators contacted me to see if I had bees for sale. Guess they found some in Bakersfield. ;-)


----------



## Keith Jarrett (Dec 10, 2006)

BeeGhost said:


> I got a lashing for saying that, Jarrets boxes, only blue boxes I seen today!


BG, I read that thread that you took a lashing over.... I should did not see anything wrong with your post, I always enjoy the other persons veiw.
Blue boxes.... got some over by you on HWY 33. enjoy the bloom.


----------



## Keith Jarrett (Dec 10, 2006)

dback said:


> . Brand is CHC.......every box and frame are branded..


Will keep an put the word out up here Larry.


----------



## dback (Jan 8, 2012)

Thanks Keith.....
Yes, they were already in the orchard......someone came in and took an entire middle row out of the center of the orchard is my understanding. These are not the first I've heard of this year but it is the largest number and I didn't have details on the others. I spoke with another friend yesterday (I won't mention his name until he gives me permission) that says he is going to post a site listing all the stolen bees he knows of so folks can watch for different brands.......I don't know if this site would consider doing the same.


----------



## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Some net savvy person needs to come up with a centralized internet lost/found/stolen "bulletin board" linked to grower websites for maximum viewing. Pretty good chance some grower may have already unknowingly found a home for them at top dollar. Could Beesource create such a forum and would Blue Diamond agree to provide a direct link to that forum in their pollination section? Just thinking.


----------



## dback (Jan 8, 2012)

That's exactly what I was thinking.......it's great that other beekeepers are aware and looking but the almond grower would be the premier line of defense.


----------



## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

And responsibility, if those hives are on their property. What sorts of contractural agreements are there between beekeeper and almond grower as to the security of hives in the groves?


----------



## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Let's not forget that it is a crime to possess stolen property. Of course, in reality, such a charge would only be pursued if there was evidence of complicity by the property owner.


----------



## cg3 (Jan 16, 2011)

Plus, the grower might be reluctant to report anything until after pollination.


----------



## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

I'm open/interested in forming a network to help with lost/found/stolen hives, but I'd be surprised if you could get all interested parties to work together. Prove me wrong!


----------



## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Educate us a bit here Barry. If a specific forum was established on here where stolen hives could be reported complete with photos and as much supporting identification as possible. Would the main complication be to get another site (such as Blue Diamond) to agree to post a forum link on their site or is there a broader picture that I am not seeing here? CG3 does bring up a very good point though. There isnt a lot of incentive for a grower to play detective if the result might be losing the hives that they just paid for.


----------



## dback (Jan 8, 2012)

Yep......it'd be one thing if it was Paramount but altogether different if it's a grower with an 80 and is going to lose his entire load of pollinators.


----------



## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

jim lyon said:


> Educate us a bit here Barry.


I think it's a case where every party doesn't have the same level of interest or need. What would help one party may not be so helpful to another, or have a negative result, as described above.


----------



## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

I understand Barry, what I was reaching for was if there were any complications from a technical or even legal standpoint. Another thought is that, at least in the big picture, there should be a great deal of interest among the growers to cut down on any trafficking of illegal bees that goes on because it adversely affects their growers in two ways. In this case someone lost some of the bees they had contracted for and secondly, the fear of theft is a major reason some beekeepers are hesitant to haul their bees out there.


----------



## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

Once I had an understanding how this sort of thing needed to work, I would be better able to answer the technical and legal question.


----------



## HarryVanderpool (Apr 11, 2005)

I think that rule #1 sould be that stolen hive threads could only be started in 1st person.
If the individual is not a member of Beesource, then they would need to sign up and post about stolen hives in there own words.
That qualifies as obvious consent and assigns fault for any accuracy problems.
Full contact information should also be posted.
Just put it all right out in plain sight, up front to show that they are earnest.
Give the option also of posting law enforcement contact info that are on the case for anonymous tips.
Book 'em, Danno!


----------



## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

sqkcrk said:


> What sorts of contractural agreements are there between beekeeper and almond grower as to the security of hives in the groves?


Do any of you almond pollinators have contracts covering hive loss due to theft?


----------



## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

HarryVanderpool said:


> I think that rule #1 sould be that stolen hive threads could only be started in 1st person.
> If the individual is not a member of Beesource, then they would need to sign up and post about stolen hives in there own words.
> That qualifies as obvious consent and assigns fault for any accuracy problems.
> Full contact information should also be posted.
> Just put it all right out in plain sight, up front to show that they are earnest.


I agree Harry. This is how the For Sale forum works now. Posters have to be members and when they purchase their subscription, I receive name and address from PayPal, so there is no longer anonymity. Too much of that going on as seen in some of the other threads.


----------



## Bradley_Bee (May 21, 2008)

sqkcrk said:


> Do any of you almond pollinators have contracts covering hive loss due to theft?




I talked to a guy just outside of bakersfield who said that there used to be an agreement between beekeepers there who would donate a dollar a hive into a fund that would cover theft losses, but it got to be so big they decided to not do it anymore. I couldn't understand why it wasn't just donated or refunded after the fact. Theft , beside non-payment , is my biggest worry up there. Recently I decided to go with a different broker on the dinks because of this. I know gps is becoming a reality but the only ones I saw would either text you if they were being moved or you would be able to find them if you could get within 1500 feet of where they were taken too. To me its kind of impractical. Where are they gps trackers?


----------



## JRG13 (May 11, 2012)

I don't know as a grower about covering theft. The beek should have insurance to cover losses like that I would assume. I would think it would be too tempting and people would make their own hives disapear to another grower and cry theft at the original one.....


----------



## jeff123fish (Jul 3, 2007)

What about a Brand registry I know that it wont help with the thefts that have already taken place but it might help if everyone is aware of the brands that are out there and who owns them


----------



## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

What about branded equipment that is sold? That's always been the problem w/ branded equipment. And what about the branded equipment I bought from someone who bought it from someone else?

Have a never sell branded equipment policy?


----------



## Honey-4-All (Dec 19, 2008)

Have a never sell branded equipment policy?[/QUOTE]

Yes indeed. Best policy ever.

To back it up I am currently trying to develop a RFID system for nearly every new piece that goes in the outfit. It does costs to do this. Getting less expensive every day. One of the best benefits is that with current RFID chips a system of Item Level Taggng is possible which could Identify every single frame through a unique identifying number if one chooses to "chip" at that level. Although this could be a deterrent to theft and improve recovery efforts I am hoping to use RFID for tracking everything from genetics to hive losses by yard, movements, and just about everything that can be measured through use of identification numbers.


----------



## RAK (May 2, 2010)

Found this on yahoo... The words might scare em away.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/from_barbs_garden_and_beyond/6907281725/


----------



## JRG13 (May 11, 2012)

Honey-4-All said:


> Have a never sell branded equipment policy?


Yes indeed. Best policy ever.

To back it up I am currently trying to develop a RFID system for nearly every new piece that goes in the outfit. It does costs to do this. Getting less expensive every day. One of the best benefits is that with current RFID chips a system of Item Level Taggng is possible which could Identify every single frame through a unique identifying number if one chooses to "chip" at that level. Although this could be a deterrent to theft and improve recovery efforts I am hoping to use RFID for tracking everything from genetics to hive losses by yard, movements, and just about everything that can be measured through use of identification numbers.[/QUOTE]

Pretty high end goal honey, but probably worth it. I'm trying to work stuff like this into my database i'm working on but not sure how detailed people want to get. You can chip or barcode everything to track equipment better when it's not being used or when you're cleaning up/discarding stuff but while it's in use, it just seems like too much work to try to track it then. I see it useful when setting up new hives/adding boxes though and tracking your relavent inventory to make sure nothing's walking away or been put away somewhere and not being used as you could easily identify inventory not being accounted for.


----------

