500,000 Honeybees Perish in Netherlands Deliberate Blaze.

Destroyed beehives — A beekeeper's 10 beehives were destroyed in a green space in the Dutch city of Almere.

A Dutch beekeeper has expressed dismay after his ten colonies were set ablaze in a public garden in the city of Almere, causing the loss of an estimated half a million bees.

Harold Stringer stated that every colony housed 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 died," he told regional media.

Law enforcement in Almere, located to the east of Amsterdam, have appealed for observers after the deliberate fire on Tuesday evening in the city's picturesque Beatrixpark. They posted pictures of the blaze on online platforms.

The Netherlands authorities says that more than half of the nation's 360 species of bee are at threat of extinction, as the number of bees declines around the world.

The beekeeper said that police had told him an flammable substance had been used to burn the hives, which were sitting on pallets in a forested area of the garden.

Barely any of the bees survived and he said that he had doubt the perpetrator would be apprehended.

Another apiarist a local beekeeper told national radio that she had three bee colonies and planned to donate a colony.

For Mr Stringer, who cared for the bees for about almost a decade, the fire means building a fresh hive in the park from scratch.

But he affirms he will not give up.