Lee County man asks for public’s help to find suspected beehive vandal

LEE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – A Lee County man is asking for the public’s help to find out who destroyed some honeybee hives.

The vandals have delayed the man’s pursuit of a part-time career, while also doing damage to the ecosystem.

When he came to check on his honeybee hives Sunday, this is what Ernie found.

“The hive was busted apart,” he said.

Ernie doesn’t want to use his last name, to avoid possible retaliation from those he believes destroyed a hive that was home to tens of thousands of honeybees.

He believes the vandals lifted the four-by-fours the hives were sitting on.

“They were deadlifting a beehive,” Ernie said.

Ernie works in the construction business and got into beekeeping as a way to build a part-time career. He would like to find out who destroyed the hive and what motivated them, and he wonders if they know the vital role bees play in the ecosystem.

“Without honeybees, we do not eat, honeybees move and pollinate everything growing, so without honeybees, we starve,” he said.

Ernie believed whoever toppled the hives would have had to approach them from the rear so they wouldn’t disturb the bees.

Ernie is asking homeowners in the area to check their security cameras for any unusual activity in the early morning hours, about a week and a half ago.

“Somebody knows something,” Ernie said.

Ernie said it’s also likely that the vandals would have been stung multiple times if they didn’t make a hasty exit.

Ernie estimates he had around a thousand dollars tied up in the damaged hives. He has made a report with the Tupelo Police Department.

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