Beekeeper launches micro dot sting

South Island beekeeper launches micro dot sting against beehive theft

A beekeeper in the South Island is deploying tiny microdots in a bid to stop smugglers taking hundreds of stolen hives to the North Island.

The Timaru beekeeper says beehives are being stolen to order, to fill a gap in North Island supplies.

Davidsons Apiaries estimates it has lost honey worth up to $50,000 in the last year alone, prompting the company to use micro dot technology to deter would-be thieves.

Its managing director Robert Davidson says he's worked with Auckland-based company Recordit, to install micro dots in his beehives.

Each dot is between only 0.5 and 1 millimetre in diameter but carries a unique DataDotDNA identification number, which can be accessed by police from any police computer nationwide over a secure link.

Mr Davidson says the beehive theft problem is very serious, especially in the South Canterbury area, and difficult to stop as so many beehives are in isolated areas out on farms and in fields.

"Thieves are just walking in and pinching our hives. I've lost about 200 in the past year, which equates to about 10-tonnes of honey," he says.

Mr Davidson says there is a huge market for beehives in the North Island, because the varroa mite infestation and high bee death rates during kiwifruit pollination have led to shortages there.

"The bees are apparently being stolen to order and couriered up to the North Island in refrigerated trucks. While most beekeepers in the North Island are legitimate buyers, some are buying stolen beehives," he says.

Recordit's Managing Director, Peter Haszard, says "once the dots are applied, the hives can be traced back to their true owners."

He is optimistic the micro dot technology will deter thieves, and enable police to identify the stolen hives.

Installing the microdots in beehives posed no problem, and they are already used successfully on vehicles, motorbikes, in the marine industry and on personal products, says Mr Haszard.

"Using the micro dots in beehives is definitely a first in New Zealand, but with the growing number of beehive thefts it's a good solution for beekeepers," he says.

Federated Farmers has recently launched an major initiative to have a million of the microdots sprayed onto farm equipment nationwide to fight rural crime. More information can be found at www.thievescantstandit.co.nz

The Government is also working on details of a scheme, announced in January 2005, which will see micro dots sprayed onto all new and newly imported vehicles as part of a battery of measures, including compulsory immobilisers, to fight a rising tide of vehicle thefts.

Some insurance companies are now also offering premium discounts and nil-excess on claims for stolen property protected by DataDotDNA.

ENDS

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