Police investigate killing of 50,000 bees

In what master gardener Peter Garnham calls an "unthinkable" and "senseless" act of vandalism, someone used a toxic liquid to kill up to 50,000 honeybees that were wintering over at the East End Cooperative Organic Farm in East Hampton.

The dead bees, in four hives on the 42-acre farm, were discovered Dec. 13 by beekeeper Mary Woltz, and the incident was reported to East Hampton town police, Garnham said Friday. Woltz could not be reached for comment.

Garnham, who is chairman of the farm's board of directors and a former beekeeper himself, said the liquid used was believed to be gasoline.

Whoever committed the act knew enough about beekeeping to open the hives, pour the liquid in and then close the hives' entrances so the bees could not get out, he said.

Police confirmed a complaint was filed. The detective on the case could not be reached Friday.

"Any sort of explanation you come up is a real stretch," Garnham said. "To knock out a rival doesn't fit. People who keep bees love bees. It's unthinkable for another beekeeper to do this. It's like fratricide. It's awful."

Gasoline sometimes is used to kill diseased bees, Garnham said, but these honeybees had no disease.

The farm's board is considering offering a reward to anyone who has information about the incident, he said.

The four hives were situated in the middle of the farm and protected by a stockade fence to block the wind.

"Inside that 15-foot-square enclosure there were four bee hives. Somebody had to know they were there," Garnham said. "It must be a pretty twisted mind."

What makes the incident even more puzzling, he said, is that the bees would have died in the spring.

"In summer, the life span of a bee is about three weeks," said Garnham, who as a master gardener has been specially trained to teach about plants, insects both beneficial and harmful, the growing of vegetables and landscaping.

The East End Cooperative Organic Farm, a not-for-profit organization, was created nine years ago and operates the town-owned community farm at 55 Long Lane, opposite the East Hampton High School athletic field.

Dirt roads crisscross the site, where seven small farms and 120 leased community gardens operate each year. The farms range from 1 to 18 acres, and the gardens are each 20 by 20 feet. Five acres on the farm are used for producing compost.