Police are searching for the person or people who destroyed numerous beehives by setting them ablaze in a rural town some 40 miles south of Houston, CBS Dallas/Fort Worth reported. The Brazoria County Sheriff's Office said the attack happened early April 27 and damage could amount to thousands of dollars. The Brazoria County Beekeepers Association (BCBA) told the Houston Chronicle there could be up to 30,000 bees per colony and there were an estimated 20 damaged hives, resulting in more than 500,000 bees killed. BCBA said they are adding $1,000 to the $5,000 reward being offered by the sheriff's office for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible. Images from BCBA showed charred hives strewn across the yard and even one floating in a nearby lake. Last night someone did major damage to a BCBA Bee Yard in Alvin last night. Its bad enough to think in todays world this... Posted by Brazoria County Beekeepers Association on Saturday, April 27, 2019 "It's bad enough to think in today's world this would happen but dumping them over and then setting fire to them is beyond comprehension," the organization wrote on Facebook. "Pray that the queens are still there in the remaining colonies." CBS DFW said those responsible could face charges of arson and criminal mischief. Anyone with information is urged to send tips to police at 1-800-460-2222 or online.<doc-sep>ALVIN, TX -- An estimated half million bees burned or drowned late Friday night. Someone intentionally destroyed more than a dozen hives, setting them ablaze or dumping them into a retention pond, a crime that left those in the local beekeeping community stunned. "Every colony that we lose is a major catastrophe to the environment," said Steven Brackmann, the president of the Brazoria County Beekeepers Assocation.The destroyed hives belonged to several of its members, and it's come at the worst possible time, right when bees are beginning their most active season.The bees and honey lost could take a year to replace, maybe longer, and this part of the country is popular with beekeepers from all over the country because of the Chinese tallow tree. "When all the pollen starts coming in on the trees, that provides what the colonies need to build," said Brackmann. "That's protein and the colony needs protein to make more babies. "Dane Beito farms bees. He sells candles, lotion, and of course, honey. He showed ABC13 Eyewitness News the damage, and says even the surviving hives might be a total loss too. He thinks whoever did it knew something about bees. "It really is unbelievable what took place," said Beito. "Hopefully somebody shows up somewhere that's pretty stung up, but at nighttime, bees don't fly like they do during the day, they stay pretty close. "The club here with more than 300 members is offering a $1,000 reward to find whoever did this.It was actually a Brazoria County deputy who first spotted the crime. He was on patrol when he saw the flames and smoke. He put them out with a fire extinguisher, but not before a lot of damage was done. Now there's a criminal investigation.The crime is serious. There are two in fact: arson, which is a state jail felony and felony criminal mischief. Both carry up to $10,000 fines and between six months and two years behind bars. "It's not an easy case, any case of this nature. There are no witnesses, it's a relatively rural area. It's a matter of getting out and beating bushes," said Lt. Varon Snelgrove with the Brazoria County Sheriff's Office. "It is unusual. Like I said, it's a senseless case. "The association is also raising money to help its members recoup some of their losses. "When they go and they set them on fire, then they've destroyed everything," Brackmann said. "That goes past vandalism, that is just basically criminal."<doc-sep>Paris (CNN) The bees that live on the roof of Notre Dame are alive and buzzing, having survived the devastating fire that ripped through the cathedral on Monday, the beekeeper Nicolas Geant confirmed to CNN. "I got a call from Andre Finot, the spokesman for Notre Dame, who said there were bees flying in and out of the hives which means they are still alive!" Geant said. "Right after the fire I looked at the drone pictures and saw the hives weren't burnt but there was no way of knowing if the bees had survived. Now I know there's activity it's a huge relief!" Notre Dame has housed three beehives on the first floor on a roof over the sacristy, just beneath the rose window, since 2013. Each hive has about 60,000 bees. Geant said the hives were not touched by the blaze because they are located about 30 meters below the main roof where the fire spread. "They weren't in the middle of the fire, had they been they wouldn't have survived," Geant said. "The hives are made of wood so they would have gone up in flames." Read More<doc-sep>
Beehives were deliberately set on fire at a bee yard in Brazoria County, Texas, on the weekend, killing half a million bees in an act described as "beyond comprehension". Volunteers discovered the wreckage on the morning of Saturday, 27 April. "Someone did major damage to a BCBA Bee Yard in Alvin last night," wrote the Brazoria County Beekeepers Association in a Facebook post. "It's bad enough to think in today's world this would happen but dumping them over and then setting fire to them is beyond comprehension." Blackened hives had been strewn across the yard, still burning, with one brood frame floating in a nearby lake, bees still clinging to it and trying to care for the eggs. Nearly 20 hives were destroyed, each containing around 30,000 bees, according to the Houston Chronicle. Honey bees aren't actually endangered, but in the last century, the world has seen a worrying decline. In the US, there were 5.9 million honey-producing colonies in 1947. This fell to 4.5 million by 1980, and 2.44 million by 2008. Since then, there has been a slight uptick - in 2017, there were 2.67 million. Nevertheless, pollinators like bees are absolutely vital to Earth ecosystems, and scientists around the world have been increasingly concerned about what is being called Colony Collapse Disorder. In this context, hive vandalism is even more baffling - yet it keeps occurring. Just six months ago, vandals destroyed hives in Iowa, killing thousands of bees. An earlier incident in January 2018 left 200,000 bees dead in California, and two teen boys killed 500,000 bees in Iowa in December 2017. Those boys were charged with three felonies: Criminal Mischief, Agricultural and Animal Facilities Offences, and Burglary. Felony Arson and Criminal Mischief charges are on the table for whoever vandalised the Brazoria County hive. Police are currently searching for a suspect, and a reward is being offered for any information that will least to an arrest and conviction.