Half a Million Honeybees Killed in Netherlands Deliberate Blaze.

A Dutch beekeeper has expressed shock after his 10 beehives were burned down in a public garden in the city of Almere, causing the loss of an estimated 500,000 bees.

The beekeeper stated that every colony contained a population of forty to sixty thousand bees, and the thought that someone could kill them was devastating.

"It really hurts that my 10 hives have perished," he informed regional media.

Police in Almere, which sits to the east of Amsterdam, have appealed for observers after the deliberate fire on Tuesday night in the city's picturesque Beatrixpark. They posted images of the fire on social media.

The Netherlands authorities reports that more than half of the country's 360 types of bee are at threat of extinction, as the number of bees decreases globally.

Mr Stringer explained that authorities had informed him an flammable substance had been employed to burn the hives, which were sitting on wooden platforms in a forested area of the park.

Almost none of the bees made it through and he said that he had doubt the perpetrator would be caught.

Fellow beekeeper a local beekeeper stated on national radio that she had three hives and planned to give him a colony.

For the beekeeper, who looked after the colonies for about nine years, the fire means starting a fresh hive in the park from the beginning.

But he insists he will continue his efforts.

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