500,000 Honeybees Perish in Netherlands Arson Attack.

A beekeeper from the Netherlands has expressed shock after his ten colonies were set ablaze in a park in the city of Almere, causing the death of an approximated half a million bees.

The beekeeper stated that every colony housed a population of forty to sixty thousand bees, and the idea that anyone could kill them was horrific.

"It really hurts that my ten colonies have perished," he told regional media.

Police in Almere, which sits to the east of Amsterdam, have requested observers after the arson attack on Tuesday night in the city's picturesque Beatrixpark. They posted images of the blaze on social media.

The Netherlands authorities says that more than half of the nation's 360 species of bee are at threat of extinction, as the population of bees declines globally.

The beekeeper explained that police had told him an flammable substance had been employed to burn the colonies, which were sitting on pallets in a wooded part of the garden.

Almost none of the bees made it through and he noted that he had little faith the arsonist would be apprehended.

Another apiarist a local beekeeper stated on national radio that she had three bee colonies and wanted to donate a colony.

For Mr Stringer, who looked after the bees for about nine years, the incident means building a new colony in the area from scratch.

But he affirms he will continue his efforts.

Related Events

• A Million Bees Killed in Hives Arson Attack.