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A beekeeper from the Netherlands has voiced dismay after his ten colonies were burned down in a park in the central city of Almere, resulting in the loss of an estimated half a million bees.

The beekeeper stated that every colony housed a colony of forty to sixty thousand bees, and the thought that someone could kill them was devastating.

"It is deeply painful that my ten colonies have perished," he told local broadcaster.

Police in Almere, which sits to the northeast of Amsterdam, have requested witnesses after the arson attack on Tuesday night in the city's scenic Beatrixpark. They shared pictures of the blaze on social media.

The Dutch government says that over 50% of the country's 360 species of bee are at threat of extinction, as the number of bees decreases around the world.

The beekeeper said that authorities had informed him an accelerant had been used to ignite the hives, which were sitting on pallets in a wooded part of the park.

Almost none of the insects made it through and he noted that he had doubt the perpetrator would be apprehended.

Fellow beekeeper Heleen Nieman stated on national radio that she had three hives and planned to give him one of them.

For the beekeeper, who looked after the bees for about nine years, the fire means starting a new colony in the area from scratch.

But he affirms he will continue his efforts.

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