Half a Million Bees Perish in Netherlands Fire Incident.
A beekeeper from the Netherlands has voiced shock after his 10 beehives were burned down in a park in the city of Almere, causing the loss of an approximated 500,000 bees.
Harold Stringer stated that every colony housed a colony of forty to sixty thousand bees, and the thought that someone could destroy them was devastating.
"It really hurts that my 10 hives have died," he informed regional media.
Police in Almere, located to the northeast of Amsterdam, have appealed for witnesses after the deliberate fire on Tuesday evening in the city's scenic Beatrixpark. They shared pictures of the blaze on social media.
The Netherlands authorities says that more than half of the country's 360 types of bee are at risk of dying out, as the number of bees declines globally.
The beekeeper said that authorities had told him an flammable substance had been used to burn the colonies, which were sitting on wooden platforms in a forested area of the park.
Almost none of the insects made it through and he noted that he had little faith the arsonist would be caught.
Fellow beekeeper a local beekeeper told national radio that she had three bee colonies and wanted to donate a colony.
For Mr Stringer, who cared for the bees for about almost a decade, the fire means building a new colony in the park from the beginning.
But he insists he will continue his efforts.
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