The Warré Bee Tower

This “Warré BEETOWER” stands in a solitary arrangement on our large meadow. It was populated on 7 May 2022 with a natural swarm from another Warré BeeTower installed about 300 m away in 2021 under a group of deciduous trees.

All our BeeTower models have a round nest cavity with a capacity of about 36 litres as the principle of species-appropriate beekeeping. According to the findings of bee researcher Tom Seeley, 36 litres are sufficient for a bee colony to live in, as in a tree cave, without further manipulation.

This bee dwelling was built from wooden slats, wooden rings with a diameter of 22 cm and 4 cm thick insulation made of reeds and clay plaster. A closed floor made of solid pieces of wood and a round flight hole allow the bees a better air circulation and optimise the #nestduftwärmebindung Top under the roof is another box with solid pieces of wood that insulates from above against temperature and moisture effects.

Honey harvesting is possible but not the aim of the Bee Tower concept, but can be carried out for own use with suitable low attachments so as not to extract too much honey from the bees.

If the targeted volume of 32 litres and the internal dimensions of a Warré hive in plan of 30×30 cm are adhered to, the total height of the cave results from the diameter of the wooden rings used.

In this “Long Lulatsch”, bamboo rings from an online shop with a diameter of 22 cm were used, resulting in a 105 cm high box with the inner chimney as nest cavity. This corresponds to 5 Warré boxes connected on top of each other.

The 105 cm box weighs approx. 30 kg with the inner reed insulation… the lower flight hole floor (Ecofloor) is made of solid wood and has a height of 30 cm and weighs 22 kg. The upper box (climate box), in which the bees are to hang their combs, also contains a solid wooden block and weighs 14 kg at a height of 15 cm. Individually, everything can still be transported by hand. With all the other elements, the total height is about 160 cm (without roof),

Tree cavity simulations such as the Bee Tower do not necessarily have to hang from trees at a height of 5 m for bees to feel at home in them… A pine tree and neighbouring bushes that protect this Warré BeeTower from wind and weather are sufficient, in my opinion, for bees to feel at home there.

Another Warré tower, which we populated with bees in 2021, is located in the same meadow about 300 m away. Since all our Warré towers can be converted, extended and opened from above without much effort, it is easy to log swarms in there and control them if necessary.