BEE THEFT

A Chico, California, man was arrested for stealing bee hives from a local beehive company. Jacob William Spath of Chico was arrested on charges of grand theft Wednesday. 64 beehives were stolen from Olivarez Bees Inc.’s Chico location on February 4, officials said. Tire tracks at the scene indicated the suspects used a flatbed truck and a pull-behind forklift to steal the hives. Deputies found the stolen hives in a neighboring county. According to deputies, Spath had been renting the stolen bees to an almond grower in Oakdale for almond pollination, leading to his eventual arrest.
* Please don’t tell me they caught him in a sting operation.
* Grand theft? But bees are so tiny!
* Now he’s gonna be pollinated by his cellmate.
* It doesn’t sound like much, but in Chico this story’s getting a lot of buzz.
* How do you steal bee hives? Very carefully.
* The bees were being used for almond pollination? Of course they were. Everyone knows about that.
* The bees were moved to a whole other county. How did they know what they were supposed to do?
* “Almond trees? What the hell happened to the cabbage field?”
* Sometimes I think there’s a lot more to farming than I’m aware of.
* I just picture the police lineup with everyone wearing a beekeeper’s suit.
* Stealing bees? If I ever turn to a life of crime I’m going to pick something more fun than this.