Beekeepers in Far North Queensland have suffered significant losses after thieves stole nearly 500,000 bees from two sites on the Atherton Tablelands. The thefts involved 41 commercial hives and are estimated to be worth up to $20,000. Police suspect an experienced beekeeper or a small-scale commercial operation is responsible for the crime, which has disrupted local honey production and pollination services.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-17,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Beekeepers in Far North Queensland are facing significant losses after dozens of beehives, containing around 490,000 bees, were stolen from two properties on the Atherton Tablelands west of Cairns. The theft occurred on September 10 when commercial beekeeper Jack Laughton discovered 14 empty hives at a property in Kairi, leaving him distraught over the extensive work and investment lost.
According to Sergeant Cross of the Mareeba Rural and Stock Crime Squad, the stolen hives are likely being used for pollination on farms elsewhere without the farmers' knowledge. The thefts not only affect beekeepers but also impact local farmers who rely on bees for crop pollination, particularly in horticulture.
Police estimate that frames of bees and their broods were taken from 41 commercial hives, potentially valued at up to $20,000. Investigators suspect a semi-commercial or commercial beekeeper committed the thefts due to the sophistication required to transfer bees into new hives.
Written for “Bee Theft Incident” on 2026-09-18,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
In short:
Beekeepers have reported dozens of stolen hives, containing nearly 500,000 bees in total.
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Beekeepers → report → total
The thefts took place across two sites on the Atherton Tablelands.
What's next?
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Police are investigating the incident and suspect the culprit is a semi-commercial to commercial beekeeper.
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culprit → investigate → incident
Police are investigating the thefts of multiple beehives worth tens of thousands of dollars from properties in Far North Queensland.
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Police → investigate → Queensland
Investigators say they believe frames of bees and their broods were taken from 41 commercial hives on the Atherton Tablelands, west of Cairns, and put into the thief's separate hive boxes.
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frames → say → boxes
Commercial beekeeper Jack Laughton was "distraught" when he first discovered 14 empty beehives at a property in Kairi on September 10.
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he → discover → September
"I was completely gutted because the amount of work that goes in preparing beehives to a good quality, to a high standard, is quite a lot of work,"he
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that → gutte → work,"he
"It's a bit of a shock to the system just to open a [hive] where you would normally see bees, expect a full, healthy hive, and there's just nothing."
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you → open → hive
Mr Laughton said each hive contained about 15,000 bees, nearly 500,000 stolen in total.
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hive → say → total
Tom Bidner, who managed Mr Laughton's beehives, said over the next two days, another 27 hives were found empty at a Mutchilba property.
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hives → manage → property
"Brood nests have been gutted and hives put back together … which is an initial loss of property, somewhere around up to $20,000 worth of hives so far,"Mr Bidner said.
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Bidner → gutte → hives
"Beyond that, we've lost anywhere up to $10,000 worth of pollination income.
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we → lose → income
"Then we are setting ourselves up for our main honey season, so there'll be the flow-on of that over the next three to four months of our best … honey-production time."
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we → set → time
Mr Bidner said the entire breeding system of each hive, including the queen, had been taken.
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system → say → queen
Varroa mite was detected in Far North Queensland last week, and he said this issue, on top of the pest threat, was adding further stress.
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issue → detect → stress
"It's just a double whammy for us at the moment," he said.
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he → say → moment
Authorities suspect experienced beekeeper
Mr Laughton and Mr Bidner have reported the thefts to the police.
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Laughton → suspect → police
Detective Sergeant Ben Cross from the Mareeba Rural and Stock Crime Squad said he suspected the perpetrator was an experienced beekeeper.
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perpetrator → say → Squad
"We believe that it's possibly someone that is semi-commercial,"he said.
uncertain
that → believe → ?
"From what we can understand, from where they've been taken and what the purpose of the bees was and their location, we're of the belief that it's possibly more of a commercial operation than a hobby farmer."
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it → understand → farmer
He said beehive thefts were not common but had occurred before.
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thefts → say → ?
He urged anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers.
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He → urge → Stoppers
Mr Bidner said he believed those responsible knew what they were doing and how to handle bees.
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they → say → bees
"This doesn't take 10 minutes.
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This → take → ?
This is someone [who has] been there for a couple of hours and likely more than one person helping achieve this in that sort of time frame," he said
"[The hives] are most likely sitting on someone's farm right now doing pollination with them totally unbeknownst."
Flow-on effects
Sergeant Cross said that while these thefts affected the beekeepers involved, they also hit farmers who rely on pollination for crops, particularly in horticulture.
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who → help → horticulture
"These commercial operators have their hives on farms for the purpose of pollination to increase crop and also fruit yield, and that impacts [farmers]," he said.
"
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he → have → farmers
When those colonies are diminished, it's obviously going to be a knock-on effect there.
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it → diminish → ?
"The beekeeper doesn't get their money from the farmers for having the hives there; the yield is decreased also in terms of honey from those hives, and then also from the fruit that then is not produced on those farms."
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that → get → farms
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