NORTH CAROLINA, N.C — There’s been a bee theft in North Carolina.

Beekeeper Ken Edgar noticed between 15 to 30 colonies were missing from his bee yard.

Each bee colony holds anywhere from 60 to 100,000 bees.

Edgar believes the thief took off with over one million bees, plus boxes and other materials he used to store the bees.

A colony can sell for about $200 on the black market.

While he does not expect to get his bees back, Edgar said he is not giving up on his passion.

He plans to build a new bee yard and stock it with at least 45 colonies. He also wants to put it in a place where thieves cannot access it.

SEE ALSO | Veterans overcoming personal battles through ‘Hives for Heroes’