US beekeepers turn to anti-theft technology as hive thefts rise

Beekeeper Medina displays a beehive frame outfitted with a GPS locater that will be installed in one of the beehives he rents out, in Woodland, California. As almond flowers start to bloom, beekeepers rent their hives out to farmers to pollinate California’s most valuable crop, but with the blossoms come beehive thefts. — AP

WOODLAND, California: For a few frenzied weeks, beekeepers from around the United States truck billions of honeybees to California to rent them to almond growers who need the insects to pollinate the state’s most valuable crop.

But as almond trees start to bloom, blanketing entire valleys in white and pink flowers, so begin beehive thefts that have become so prevalent that beekeepers are now turning to GPS tracking devices, surveillance cameras and other anti-theft technology to protect their precious colonies.