Hello! My name is Nick.
Hello! My name is Nick. I have been a practical beekeeper for 7 years and a virtual (read armchair) beekeeper for much longer. I run a small apiary in the Willamette Valley of Northwest Oregon, USA. Honeybees and beekeeping have always been major interests in my life.
I enjoy helping others to learn about the only insect in the world actively kept by humans…honeybees. I also enjoy building my own beehives, managing my apiary and helping other people keep bees. For me, beekeeping is a way of life.
How this site got started
In the past couple of years, I have noticed an increase of interest in bees and beekeeping. I have received phone calls and emails from people who wanted to naturally keep bees on their property, but did not have good resources to get started.
After discovering the Warre Hive in the Fall of 2007, I knew that this hive would be perfect for those who wanted to keep a few honeybee colonies simply and in a sustainable manner. So, I decided to create The Bee Space in order to provide a resource for natural and sustainable beekeeping.
Enjoy the site!
Please read my Site Policies and Terms of Use.
If you want to help
Please consider donating to one of the following worthy recipients. Thanks!
- Give the gift of honeybees and beehives to a needy community through Heifer International
- Help to sponsor a child through World Vision
- Donate to The Bee Space. Why? If you found this site helpful or insightful you might want to give a little something in return.
Communities
5 responses so far ↓
Sid // November 17, 2008 at 6:54 pm |
Hi Nick,
I love your website and natural beekeeping too.
I am gonna make Warre hive. I do not know of width of top bar and spacing. Would Warre’s dimensions work in Toronto? Did you use spacing for Europeans bees?
Nick // November 17, 2008 at 10:21 pm |
Sid – Thanks for your compliment! You can find the top bar width and spacing in the Warre Hive Plans. The plans are a free download. And yes, I did use the spacing recommended by Warre. This spacing works well for bees here in North America.
Yes, the Warre dimension would work in Toronto, if you made the walls a bit thicker. I know of a beekeeper who is using the Warre Hive in Central Alberta, Canada and is having good success with them.
Tim Bombaci // November 28, 2009 at 7:38 pm |
Could you elaborate on the “wax starter strips under each top bar (NO FOUNDATION)” Is this adhered or brushed on?
Thank you,
Tim
Scot McPherson // December 2, 2009 at 1:29 pm |
Tim,
The easiest way is to drizzle it on. Take a top bar and let it soak in cold water, this will be your drizzle guide. Take a top bar you wish to get a wax starter on, and then take your wet drizzle guide and place it halfway across so the drizzle line is where you want the wax starter. Then with a teaspoon, drizzle hot beeswax in the groove created by the two top bars together. The beeswax will not stick to the cold wet top bar, and when you immediately pull them apart, you have a wax starter strip for the bees to start on.
Ken Davis // February 3, 2010 at 7:49 pm |
Nick, can you give me the title of the book you referenced in the article “listening to your bees”? I want to learn more about the sounds that bees make as they build up to swarm. thanks, Ken