A beekeeper in Western Australia's far north has been left reeling after finding out hundreds of thousands of his bees were deliberately poisoned.
Broome-based apiarist Ryan Leavitt found his 16 hives, containing 60,000 bees each, dead one morning in December at a site in the West Kimberley.
"I instantly noticed no bees were flying in and out of any of the hives. So I didn't even put on my bee suit," he said.
"I just walked up to them and noticed just literally thousands of bees dead in front of every single colony."
The long time apiarist had harvested 450kg of honey from the healthy hives the day prior.
A Department of Primary Industries toxicology report on the bees recently confirmed they had been poisoned by Fipronil, an insecticide commonly used against termites, grasshoppers and ants.
In Europe the use of Fipronil is restricted because of its toxicity to honey bees.
"I knew they were poisoned," Mr Leavitt said.
"They've got a proboscis, which is like their tongue, and that they were all hanging down, which means they're poisoned."
The incident has been reported to WA Police.
Bee poisoning is an increasing problem
In a statement, the WA Apiarists' Society (WAAS) said members had contacted it in the past about bee poisoning, most commonly by spray drift or chemicals on crops.
"We have also heard of instances of deliberate hive vandalism and poisoning," the statement read.
"This is distressing for beekeepers due to the loss of their hobby or livelihood. It is also a criminal matter."
Mr Leavitt's distress over the bees has been compounded by the financial loss and learning there were no specific laws protecting hives.
"Something's got to change — I wouldn't want other apiarists to go through this," he said.
"They're essential pollinators. Without pollinators we don't get food crops."
WAAS said the community needed to use chemicals responsibly to reduce the impact on pollinators like bees.
It urged neighbours with concerns about hives to read its best practice guidelines online, and to talk with the beekeeper, local government or the Department of Primary Industries.
Source - https://www.msn.com
