Poisoning suspected as more than 15m bees die
By Yang Jian |
July 6, 2012, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
MORE than 15 million bees are believed to have died of poisoning in north China's Hebei Province, triggering a police investigation.
Police are offering a reward of 10,000 yuan (US$1,574) for tips leading to the arrest of the culprits, according to the head of the Xiazhuang Village of Pingshan County, under the provincial capital Shijiazhuang City.
Over 70 percent of the bees in 450 hives raised by three families died on Sunday, causing over 400,000 yuan in losses, Liu Shihu, party chief of the village, told Shanghai Daily yesterday. The bodies of bees piled up and began to stink, he said.
Bees kept by two other beekeepers nearby were not affected, he said.
Police suspect sugar used as the feed for the bees was poisoned. Tests on the sugar and hives were being conducted.
Five families just moved to the village from central Hubei Province in May with tens of millions of bees. Aside from the families, the village of about 300 families has no apiculture, said Liu. "We locals always treat them friendly," said the head of the village.
Bees in the affected hives began dropping in the morning and all the bees, including the queens, soon died, said Yang Jinfang, one of the beekeepers. Yang rushed to his uncle's and another relative's houses and found the same situation.
"We had kept bees for generations and came to the north every summer to let the bees gather honey, but had never encountered such strange things," Yang said.
Yang said he thinks the hives were poisoned because some bees from neighboring beekeepers that had gone into the hives also died, while the surviving bees refused to enter their hives again.
He locked a dozen of surviving bees into one of the hives and found they died soon.
A large dog that watched over the beehives suddenly died of unknown causes several days before the incident, said Ouyang Youchun, Yang's uncle, who thinks someone got rid of the dog in preparation for poisoning the bees.
Police are offering a reward of 10,000 yuan (US$1,574) for tips leading to the arrest of the culprits, according to the head of the Xiazhuang Village of Pingshan County, under the provincial capital Shijiazhuang City.
Over 70 percent of the bees in 450 hives raised by three families died on Sunday, causing over 400,000 yuan in losses, Liu Shihu, party chief of the village, told Shanghai Daily yesterday. The bodies of bees piled up and began to stink, he said.
Bees kept by two other beekeepers nearby were not affected, he said.
Police suspect sugar used as the feed for the bees was poisoned. Tests on the sugar and hives were being conducted.
Five families just moved to the village from central Hubei Province in May with tens of millions of bees. Aside from the families, the village of about 300 families has no apiculture, said Liu. "We locals always treat them friendly," said the head of the village.
Bees in the affected hives began dropping in the morning and all the bees, including the queens, soon died, said Yang Jinfang, one of the beekeepers. Yang rushed to his uncle's and another relative's houses and found the same situation.
"We had kept bees for generations and came to the north every summer to let the bees gather honey, but had never encountered such strange things," Yang said.
Yang said he thinks the hives were poisoned because some bees from neighboring beekeepers that had gone into the hives also died, while the surviving bees refused to enter their hives again.
He locked a dozen of surviving bees into one of the hives and found they died soon.
A large dog that watched over the beehives suddenly died of unknown causes several days before the incident, said Ouyang Youchun, Yang's uncle, who thinks someone got rid of the dog in preparation for poisoning the bees.
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