UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (U-WIRE) – A swarm of confusion surrounds the theft of 150 beehives valued at $6,000 from Wiley Lab, Pennsylvania State University entomologists said.

When Nancy Ostiguy, associate professor of entomology, said she noticed the empty bee boxes missing in November, she thought a department member had borrowed them for research.

With the recent warmer weather, entomologists were preparing to fill the fully assembled bee abodes with three-pound packages of the black and yellow critters, Ostiguy said.

“It became clear this week that the boxes were not borrowed; they were stolen,” Ostiguy said.

Though bee theft is common in the winter, Ostiguy said, “no bees were involved” in the theft of the vacant boxes.

“There are no homeless bees,” she said, adding that new beehives arrived last night.

Maryann Frazier, Penn State’s honeybee extension specialist, said the beehive thief was most likely someone familiar with bee keeping.

“You wouldn’t take these things unless you knew what they were,” Frazier said of the incident, adding that it “puts the department in a tough position.”

Haagen-Dazs announced in February it will give Penn State $150,000 to further its honeybee research, according to Daily Collegian archives.

Penn State has been a leader in the bee research field since a researcher discovered Colony Collapse Disorder was responsible for major colony loss.

Frazier added that four or five of the white, milk crate-shaped boxes are stacked on top of each other to form the hives that accommodate some of Penn State’s 100 bee colonies.

Honeybees form combs on frames that are inserted into the boxes.

“I don’t know what else you’d do with the boxes,” Ostiguy said. “The only other reason you could take them is to burn it because it’s wood.”

Ostiguy said she thinks someone outside of the university broke into the equipment area in the lab.

“It’s supposed to be locked, but we have found doors open, and we’ve never been able to figure out why,” Ostiguy said.

“We have keys, and all of our folks say up and down that they do not leave it unlocked. I believe them.”

She said the boxes were bought with grant money, which funds all research done at the university.

“Basically, what somebody did was steal your tax dollars,” Ostiguy said.

Ostiguy added that similar thefts have been known to occur in the greenhouses around campus, which were supposed to have been secured.

“Somebody either has a key or picks locks, but every year, flocks of plants disappear,” Ostiguy said.

“People probably believe that it doesn’t matter because the university has lots of money, but this comes out of our research money.”