500,000 Honeybees Killed in Netherlands Deliberate Blaze.
A beekeeper from the Netherlands has expressed dismay after his ten colonies were set ablaze in a public garden in the city of Almere, causing the death of an approximated half a million bees.
Harold Stringer mentioned that each hive contained a colony of 40-60,000 bees, and the idea that someone could destroy them was devastating.
"It is deeply painful that my ten colonies have perished," he informed regional media.
Police in Almere, located to the northeast of Amsterdam, have appealed for observers after the arson attack on Tuesday night in the city's picturesque Beatrixpark. They shared pictures of the blaze on online platforms.
The Netherlands authorities says that more than half of the nation's 360 types of bee are at risk of dying out, as the number of bees decreases globally.
The beekeeper said that authorities had told him an accelerant had been used to ignite the colonies, which were sitting on wooden platforms in a wooded part of the garden.
Barely any of the insects made it through and he noted that he had doubt the arsonist would be apprehended.
Another apiarist Heleen Nieman told Dutch radio that she had three hives and planned to give him a colony.
For the beekeeper, who looked after the colonies for about nine years, the fire means starting a new colony in the area from scratch.
But he insists he will not give up.
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