Beekeeper Gets Stung for $6,000 in Fines

A Riverside-based commercial beekeeper has been ordered to pay $6,000 in fines and restitution after he was convicted of trespassing. His offense: raising up to 250 million bees on public land.

Albert Knoefler, 67, was also placed on three years probation by Los Angeles Municipal Judge Floyd Baxter. Knoefler sells honey under his name throughout Southern California, as well as in North Dakota and Nebraska, according to Los Angeles Deputy Dist. Atty. Bernadette DeBarajas, who prosecuted the case.

Law enforcement officials discovered Knoefler’s illegally placed beehives in May after “numerous” bicyclists complained about being “swarmed” by bees, DeBarajas said.

Knoefler usually keeps his beehives in Riverside County, but because of the arid conditions there, Knoefler placed hundreds of beehives on state-owned land near the Pyramid Lake recreation area in northwestern Los Angeles County, where nectar was plentiful, the prosecutor said. The area is mostly grassland, with trees and bushes.

State authorities in mid-May instructed Knoefler to remove 440 beehives they had discovered, but he failed to do so, according to DeBarajas. When officials revisited the site a week later, the number of beehives had actually increased to 736, according to testimony in the three-day jury trial. It was estimated that as many as 250 million bees were in the area.

With little overhead expenses, beekeeping can be a lucrative business. According to DeBarajas, 2,200 beehives can generate 90 tons of honey worth up to $100,000 wholesale. She said Knoefler has 3,000 beehives in Southern California.

After the bees and hives were confiscated, state officials moved them to a “choice spot” near Quail Lake, also owned by the state.