Thousands of honey bees killed at Lincolnshire Marriott Resort

someone snuck onto the grounds of the Lincolnshire Marriott Resort earlier this month and used pesticides to kill thousands of honeybees, officials said.

Kristin Duncan, the resort's general manager, said Monday that when her executive chef, Pierre Daval, went out to the hives on Nov. 6 to collect that day's honey, he found 10 of the 12 hives completely devoid of life and three cans of Raid bug spray lying on the ground.
Whoever sprayed the hives did not damage any of the structures, Duncan said, but she estimated that the attack killed thousands of bees. She said she had no idea what the person's motive might have been.
"We were all very disappointed and saddened that someone would make that effort to do this," Duncan said. "These are not attacking bees. These are bees that are just around to make honey."

Lincolnshire police said they are investigating the matter but offered no further details.

The colonies began as a group of about 80,000 bees in 2013, and operated under the direction of then-executive chef Joe Plucinski. The hives are located at the south end of the resort's vegetable garden — a location purposefully placed a golf cart's drive away from the resort and the golf course, Duncan said.
Before the attack, the bees produced enough honey to be used in the restaurant's food and make a few bottles as gifts for guests, with enough left over to sell bottles of it in the resort's gift shop, Duncan said. Plucinski said in 2013 that his worker bees made a "wildflower" honey blend similar to that found commonly on grocery store shelves.
The two Marriott hives that remain are still churning out a little honey, Duncan said, and she and Daval hope to eventually repopulate the other 10 hives. The hives and garden have no fence around them, a fact that she said is now up for discussion.
"We obviously need to consider that," Duncan said.