Without bees, "we would see almost nothing in the grocery store." That's according to Steve Brackmann of Texas' Brazoria County Beekeepers Association. He has been frustrated by the dwindling of bee populations as a result of insecticides and herbicides—which made the intentional destruction of at least half a million bees early Saturday particularly devastating. Brackmann tells KTRK that 20 of the association's 24 hives were discovered torn apart, burned, or thrown into a lake near Alvin. "We're looking at 500,000 to 600,000 [bees] that have been destroyed," he says, adding any survivors are goners without a queen. More than $16,000 has been raised as some beekeepers lost their livelihoods. USA Today reports $6,000 is offered for information as police investigate. (More bees stories.)