Bee-rustling is on the rise in Wales.
Cardiff beekeeper Elaine Spence found one of her hives stripped of its bee colony in March.
She said she knows of 10 other hives being stolen in the past year by people who need expert knowledge to do it.
"To steal a colony of bees, you need to know what you're doing,'' she told the BBC. ''A person walking the street would not know how to come in and effectively remove a colony of bees.
''The bees that were taken were a fairly angry lot - they even managed to put me in accident and emergency last year ... so maybe there might be some poetic justice."
Ms Spence estimates a colony of bees could sell for more than £200.
The BBC reports no official figures are kept on hive thefts.