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Beekeepers turn to anti-theft technology as hive thefts rise

Beekeeper Hello Medina displays a beehive frame outfitted with a GPS locater that will be installed in one of the beehives he rents out, in Woodland, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022. As almond flowers start to bloom, beekeepers rent their hives out to farmers to pollinate California's most valuable crop, but with the blossoms come beehive thefts. Medina says last year he lost 282 hives estimated to be worth $100,000, and is now installing GPS-enabled sensors to help find the stolen hives. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) Jesus Llamas, field operations manager for beehive supplier Tauzer Apiaries, uses smoke to calm the bees before inspecting one of the companies hives in an almond orchard in Woodland, Calif., Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. About a thousand beehive boxes worth hundreds of thousands of dollars have been reported stolen across California the past few weeks. The thefts have become so frequent that beekeepers are putting tracking devices, surveillance cameras and other anti-theft technology to protect their hives. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) Beehives of Tauzer Apiaries and rented for crop pollination, sit in an orchard in Woodland, Calif., Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. About a thousand beehive boxes worth hundreds of thousands of dollars have been reported stolen across California the past few weeks. The thefts have become so frequent that beekeepers are putting tracking devices, surveillance cameras and other anti-theft technology to protect their hives. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) Trevor Tauzer, whose family-owned business, Tauzer Apiaries, rents beehives for crop pollination, inspects a beehive rented to an almond grower in Woodland, Calif., Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. About a thousand beehive boxes worth hundreds of thousands of dollars have been reported stolen across California the past few weeks. The thefts have become so frequent that beekeepers are putting tracking devices, surveillance cameras and other anti-theft technology to protect their hives. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) A bee approaches an almond blossom in an orchard near Woodland, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022. About a thousand beehive boxes worth hundreds of thousands of dollars have been reported stolen across California the past few weeks. The thefts have become so frequent that beekeepers are putting tracking devices, surveillance cameras and other anti-theft technology to protect their hives. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) Beekeeper Hello Medina displays a beehive frame outfitted with a GPS locater that will be installed in one of the beehives he rents out, in Woodland, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022. As almond flowers start to bloom, beekeepers rent their hives out to farmers to pollinate California's most valuable crop, but with the blossoms come beehive thefts. Medina says last year he lost 282 hives estimated to be worth $100,000, and is now installing GPS-enabled sensors to help find the stolen hives. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)