Half a Million Bees Killed in Dutch Deliberate Blaze.

Destroyed beehives — A beekeeper's ten beehives were destroyed in a green space in the city of Almere.

A Dutch beekeeper has voiced dismay after his ten colonies were burned down in a park in the city of Almere, causing the death of an approximated 500,000 bees.

Harold Stringer mentioned that each hive contained a population of 40-60,000 bees, and the thought that anyone could kill them was horrific.

"It is deeply painful that my ten colonies have perished," he informed local broadcaster.

Police in Almere, which sits to the northeast of Amsterdam, have requested witnesses after the deliberate fire on Tuesday night in the city's scenic Beatrixpark. They posted pictures of the fire on social media.

The Dutch government reports that more than half of the country's 360 species of bee are at risk of extinction, as the number of bees decreases globally.

Mr Stringer said that authorities had informed him an accelerant had been employed to burn the colonies, which were sitting on pallets in a forested area of the garden.

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

Another apiarist Heleen Nieman told Dutch radio that she had three hives and planned to give him a colony.

For Mr Stringer, who looked after the colonies for about almost a decade, the incident means building a new colony in the area from the beginning.

But he insists he will continue his efforts.