A Waikato beekeeper has been stung by thieves who have taken off with 25 of his hives.
John Tyler checked on his hives two weeks ago, finding only three left out of the 28 on a farm in Te Poi.
Mr Tyler says each hive contained about 50,000 bees, weighed 25kg and was worth more than $7000.
He is not insured.
My Tyler says the incident saddens him and says it is about beekeeper honour.
"It's honour amongst beekeepers really, you don't go pinching everybody's gear do you? I think most beekeepers are pretty honest, it only takes a couple of bad eggs to make the whole thing look dim, doesn't it?"
Mr Tyler says the bee rustlers knew what they were doing and will make a quick buck out of the hives which have been primed for pollination.
The beekeeper was looking forward to the busiest part of his year, with fruitgrowers needing his bees to pollinate their plants.
3 News/RadioLIVE