For a few frenzied weeks, beekeepers from across the US truck billions of honeybees to California to rent them to almond growers who need the insects to pollinate the state’s most valuable crop. However, as almond trees start to bloom, blanketing entire valleys in white and pink flowers, so begin beehive thefts, which have become so prevalent that beekeepers are now turning to GPS tracking devices, surveillance cameras and other anti-theft technology to protect their precious colonies. Hive thefts have been reported elsewhere in the US — recently, three hives containing about 60,000 bees were taken from a grocery chain’s garden in