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A Dutch beekeeper has voiced shock after his ten colonies were burned down in a public garden in the central city of Almere, resulting in the loss of an approximated 500,000 bees.

Harold Stringer stated that each hive housed a population of 40-60,000 bees, and the thought that someone could kill them was devastating.

"It is deeply painful that my 10 hives have died," he informed regional media.

Police in Almere, located to the east of Amsterdam, have requested observers after the deliberate fire on Tuesday evening in the city's scenic Beatrixpark. They shared images of the fire on social media.

The Netherlands authorities reports that more than half of the country's 360 species of bee are at threat of dying out, as the number of bees declines globally.

The beekeeper explained that authorities had informed him an accelerant had been used to ignite the hives, which were placed on wooden platforms in a forested area of the park.

Almost none of the bees survived and he said that he had little faith the perpetrator would be apprehended.

Another apiarist 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 colonies for about almost a decade, the fire means building a fresh hive in the area from scratch.

But he insists he will not give up.

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