Tens of thousands of bees were killed after beehives at a Pittsburgh-area farm were set on fire, according to the family-owned business.
An owner of Bedillion Honey Farm in Industry and his daughter noticed the “aftermath of deliberate destruction” of their beehives while doing routine checks on Thursday, the family business wrote in a statement on Facebook.
“Tens of thousands of honey bees turned to ash, along with the boxes and pallets they were once housed in,” Bedillion Honey Farm posted, alongside pictures of the harrowing aftermath of the torched hives.
“This was a significant loss of animal life, as well as the principle of our livelihood, although we intend to regroup and rebuild.”
Owners of Bedillion Honey Farm, Mark and Sarah Bedillion, claimed that 50 beehives were intentionally set on fire during the arson in the secluded wooded area — killing roughly 50,000 bees, WTAE reported.
“We rolled up to it. I was a little confused, like, where are the beehives?” said the couple’s daughter, Lily, told the outlet.
“When you really get to looking at it, you can see squares of ash where they burned the pallet,” she said.
“My heart dropped, my dad’s heart dropped — a pretty long moment of silence until it set in that all of our hives were caught on fire. It was heartbreaking, to say the least.”
Bedillion has a small retail shop in Hickory that sells various products from their farm, including honey, candles, and soaps, according to the outlet.
“It was like getting punched in the gut,” Sarah Bedillion, who manages the shop, told the outlet.
“It was heartbreaking. They killed our bees, killed them. We’re estimating about 50 hives out of the bunch, so tens of thousands of bees.”
A GoFundMe fundraiser for Bedillion Honey Farm to recoup the loss of the hives and equipment has raised over $23,500 of its $35,000 goal as of Sunday night.
The farm has since filed a police report and urged anyone with information to help solve the case to come forward.
The family-owned farm will also offer a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for the tragic blaze.
“We have been overwhelmed by the love and support following the deliberate fire at one of our bee yard locations in Industry, PA. Our family is extremely grateful for your kindness and messages,” the farm wrote in an updated statement on Friday.
“Though it has been demoralizing, we are continuing with our regular spring program in caring for the rest of our hives, and we will keep you posted if we learn more.”
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