AUDIO: MASSIVE BEE THEFT
A Montana beekeeper says thieves stole 488 beehives he had taken to California to pollinate almond trees. Lloyd Cunniff was storing the bees on a fellow beekeeper’s property in Yuba City, California, before moving them to Fresno, where he had a contract to pollinate almond trees. He says the thieves used semitrailers to steal 190,000 bees last Monday night. The sheriff’s department says other beekeepers have reported thefts, as well.
* Yep, 190,000 bees exactly.
* The whole city’s buzzing about it.
* The sheriff’s department must not have bee retrieval on its Honey Do list.
* This calls for a sting operation.
* I just picture the police lineup with everyone wearing beekeeper suits.
* Who took the bees? None of your beeswax.
* You know how you steal beehives, right? Very carefully.
* Stealing bees? If I ever turn to a life of crime I’m going to pick something more fun than this.
* Take a guess how big the California almond business is? Try 6.5 billion a year.
* And that is just nuts.
* You know it’s an organized gang when they roll up in semi-trucks.
* Bees have it bad. You’ve got the queen bee having all the sex while you’re out pollinating almonds.
CLIP: Our classic “Dr. Evil and the Bees” spot.
