Florida beekeeper says someone poisoned his honey bees

DELAND, Fla. (AP) — A central Florida beekeeper says he believes someone is poisoning his honey bees.

Horace Bell tells The Daytona Beach News-Journal that he found dead bees all over his property when he went to check the hives Sunday. He's offering a $30,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

He has owned the apiary and worked in the honey bee industry for decades. He contacted the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and an investigator visited the property Monday.

Bell believes they've been poisoned because in addition to the dead bees, he says many others are acting abnormally.

He has about 20,000 hives in Florida and about 1,000 are at the DeLand property. He's taking the hives to Fort Pierce for safekeeping.