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A Dutch beekeeper has voiced shock after his 10 beehives were burned down in a public garden in the city of Almere, resulting in the death of an estimated half a million bees.

Harold Stringer stated that every colony housed a population of forty to sixty thousand bees, and the idea that someone could destroy them was devastating.

"It really hurts that my ten colonies have perished," he informed local broadcaster.

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

The Dutch government says that more than half of the country's 360 types of bee are at threat of extinction, as the population of bees declines globally.

The beekeeper said that authorities had told him an flammable substance had been used to burn the hives, which were sitting on pallets in a forested area of the garden.

Almost none of the bees survived and he noted that he had doubt the arsonist would be caught.

Another apiarist Heleen Nieman stated on national radio that she had three bee colonies and wanted to give him a colony.

For the beekeeper, who cared for the bees for about almost a decade, the fire means starting a fresh hive in the park from the beginning.

But he insists he will not give up.

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