500 Pound Beehive Stolen From Outside Houston Restaurant (VIDEO)

Americans have enough to contend with: stubbornly high unemployment, the ongoing war in Afghanistan and high gas prices. And now, just when you thought things couldn't get any worse, beehive theft is on the rise.

KHOU in Houston reports that unidentified thieves loaded a 500 pound beehive valued at $1,000 into their truck and stole it from outside a local restaurant.

The restaurant's chef told KLTV the thieves must have known what they were doing because they struck when it was rainy and cold outside, a time when bees are least active.

According to KHOU, this is far from an isolated incident. Harris County Beekeepers Association member Jennifer Scott told the station these kinds of thefts are on the rise because the creatures, who create pricey raw honey, are in short supply.

"Oh yes,” Scott said. “Beekeepers are very careful now where they keep their bees, because bees are stolen.”

The Mother Nature Network also reported on the hive stealing trend back in 2010.

For more on the story, watch the video from KHOU above.