Citrus County deputies documented a property-line misunderstanding; the bees have not been returned months later.
HOMOSASSA, Fla. — An 84-year-old beekeeper in Citrus County is trying to recover 20 active beehives that disappeared after a neighboring landowner arranged for them to be removed in late July, according to a deputy’s report and interviews. The man, Richard Marquette, says the missing colonies were his main source of income and represented up to 2 million bees.
Marquette’s case highlights a knot of property, agriculture and consumer questions now circulating in a rural pocket of Florida. The neighbor, who bought an adjacent lot, told deputies the removal stemmed from a misunderstanding about property lines. A contractor cleared trees and the hives vanished the same day, records show. With the sheriff’s case now closed and no bees returned, Marquette’s attorney has sent a demand letter and is preparing a civil claim. State apiary rules, which preempt local ordinances, place registration and oversight with agriculture officials, but the dispute over ownership, costs and potential damages is landing in court.
Marquette said he discovered the loss on July 26 when he drove to a vacant lot he owns to tend his hives. “I encountered a contractor with a backhoe knocking down trees 50 feet inside my property line,” he said. The Citrus County Sheriff’s Office later documented that the neighboring buyer, identified in the report as Joseph Denick, acknowledged telling a friend to remove the bees and said the hives could be returned. More than 90 days later, they were still missing and the sheriff’s case was closed, Marquette said. Denick declined an on-camera interview and later texted that he wanted to resolve the matter through the courts. Marquette, who was on medical leave from a retail job after an injury, said the hives were “same thing as gold,” because honey sales kept him afloat.
Financial records and estimates from Marquette place the short-term loss between $8,000 and $16,000 for a single honey pull, based on his $20-per-quart price and typical yields of 20 to 40 quarts per hive. Some Florida hives can produce up to three crops a year, meaning the overall impact could be larger if the colonies are not recovered. Marquette said each hive was stenciled with his initials and state registration numbers, and his remaining equipment shows the same markings. Attorney Andy Lyons, who represents Marquette, said in an interview that the removal “destroyed” at least a year of income and damaged queens and combs built over seasons. Lyons said he delivered a demand letter giving seven days to return the hives or compensate his client, but he has not received details about who physically took the colonies or where they were placed.
Florida law requires beekeepers to register colonies with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, whose apiary inspectors check hives for pests and verify compliance. The law also preempts counties and cities from adopting their own placement rules, concentrating authority at the state level. Officials did not say where the missing colonies might be or whether department staff located any labeled boxes matching Marquette’s numbers. The sheriff’s report noted a miscommunication led a land-clearing crew to work on the wrong side of a boundary and that Denick admitted posting on social media offering the hives to anyone willing to move them. Denick told a reporter that a “friend of a friend” hauled the bees away, but he did not provide names. The precise location of the colonies remains unknown.
Beekeeping has deep roots in Florida, where warm winters allow multiple nectar flows and support commercial and backyard apiaries. The state’s rules were tightened over the past decade to address disease control, Africanized genetics and urban conflicts, with registration, annual inspections and removal permits overseen by the agriculture department. Honey bees pollinate a wide slice of Florida crops, and local keepers say established colonies are valuable because they’re adapted to microclimates and already working drawn comb. Marquette said he began keeping bees at age ten, and his missing boxes contained active brood, drawn frames and stored honey—assets that take time and resources to rebuild.
On the legal front, Marquette’s attorney said he is preparing a civil action seeking the return of the hives and equipment or compensation for their value and lost harvests. Lyons said the case could also address alleged trespass and conversion tied to the July clearing. Denick, for his part, has indicated he wants to handle the dispute in court. With the sheriff’s case closed, any criminal filing would require new information; none had been announced as of Friday. If a lawsuit is submitted, initial filings could be posted in county court records within days, followed by a judge assigning deadlines for responses and potential mediation. Agriculture officials typically field tips about hive ownership and removals, but no public timetable has been given for any findings related to Marquette’s numbers.
In Homosassa, Marquette pointed to one surviving production hive and a few empty boxes, saying most of his bees, queens and frames vanished in a single day. “I can’t figure out why they won’t bring them back or at least pay me for the bees,” he said. Neighbors said they saw land-clearing equipment working along the tree line in midsummer. A photo taken after the removal shows fresh tracks in the sandy soil and a cleared strip where the apiary once stood. “You have to know what you’re doing in order to move these hives,” Lyons said, adding that labeled boxes, smoker burns and propolis stains made the apiary’s status obvious to beekeepers.
As of this week, Marquette said he is waiting on a response to his demand letter and pricing replacement queens, boxes and frames in case the suit drags on. The next milestone could come if the neighbor or the unknown mover returns the boxes or if a complaint is filed in county court. For now, the question of who has the labeled hives—and whether they will be returned—remains open.
Author note: Last updated November 15, 2025.