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Honey Heist: Well-known Georgia beekeeper loses hives to thieves

Between the value of the hives themselves and the honey, investigators put the theft at an estimated $40,000.

LULA, Ga. -- A local beekeeper said he would cover them with honey and let the bees do the rest if he had the chance.

Don Kuchenmeister is furious and more than a bit heartbroken after finding several of his hives gone. Thieves, under the cover of darkness, stole between 50 and 100 of them from a man who has dedicated more than 50 years not only to the bees but to education about them.

Between the value of the hives themselves and the honey, investigators put the theft at an estimated $40,000.

Kuchenmeister has been described by some as one of the most well-known beekeepers in the world. It's not hard to believe, either, with 23,000 members of his closed Facebook group where he's known as "The Fat Bee Man."

Meanwhile, through a YouTube account usually reserved for educating the public, Don is now documenting all the hives he lost. He has another 44,000 subscribers there.

The latest video shows him walking through his front yard and showing empty spaces where hives used to be.

"Evidently, some little b****** was here and knows my brick system; knows what was ready to go," he said.

He said bees were returning to find their homes missing as he walked through the hives.

Now, he's just hoping someone spots his prized and unusual looking hives - and the people who took them.

Right now, the only clue he has to go on is an off-gray pickup truck - a "dually" with two doubled-up rear wheels on each side that had been driving in the area on Saturday. The next day is when he found his hives gone.

While it's not clear if that truck is connected to the theft, investigators are seeking that driver out - a white male who appears to be between 20 and 30 years old.

As he walked through his yard, Don said that he could see the wide tracks of dual wheels on the ground.

"To give you an idea of what all they took, it must have took a while," he said.

Investigators said it's not likely they'll find the bee thieves. But that doesn't stop Don from imagining what he would do to them if they did get caught.

"I want to put a little honey on him and have them run around my bee yard," he said. "Then I want to kick all the hives! That would be the true punishment, right?"

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