Police in Texas are investigating after an arsonist destroyed dozens of beehives, killing hundreds of thousands of bees.

The Brazoria County Crime Stoppers said in a press release Monday that the sheriff's office in the area south of Houston was offering a reward of $5,000 for information leading to the capture of the suspect. No reported witnesses have come forward.

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"It's not an easy case, any case of this nature. There are no witnesses, it's a relatively rural area. It's a matter of getting out and beating bushes," Brazoria County Sheriff's Office spokesman Lt. Varon Snelgrove told a local ABC affiliate.

The fires were discovered Saturday morning and extinguished by a sheriff's deputy, according to the crime stoppers press release, but about a half-million bees had already been killed.

"A reward of UP TO $5,000.00 is being offered through Brazoria County Crime Stoppers for Information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons involved," read the press release.

The president of a local beekeeper's association called the act worse than minor vandalism, while vowing that the community would help the owner recover.

"Every colony that we lose is a major catastrophe to the environment," Steven Brackmann told ABC 13.

"When they go and they set them on fire, then they've destroyed everything," he continued. "That goes past vandalism, that is just basically criminal."