Half a Million Honeybees Perish in Netherlands Deliberate Blaze.
A beekeeper from the Netherlands has voiced shock after his ten colonies were set ablaze in a park in the city of Almere, resulting in the loss of an estimated 500,000 bees.
The beekeeper mentioned that each hive contained a population of 40-60,000 bees, and the thought that someone could destroy them was horrific.
"It is deeply painful that my ten colonies have died," he told local broadcaster.
Police in Almere, which sits to the northeast of Amsterdam, have requested witnesses after the arson attack on Tuesday evening in the city's scenic Beatrixpark. They shared images of the fire on online platforms.
The Dutch government says that more than half of the country's 360 types of bee are at threat of extinction, as the number of bees decreases around the world.
Mr Stringer said that police had told him an flammable substance had been employed to ignite the colonies, which were sitting on pallets in a wooded part of the garden.
Almost none of the bees made it through and he said that he had doubt the arsonist would be apprehended.
Another apiarist Heleen Nieman stated on national radio that she had three hives and planned to give him a colony.
For Mr Stringer, who looked after the bees for about almost a decade, the incident means building a fresh hive in the park from scratch.
But he insists he will not give up.
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