ABOUT

About Me

        We can learn a remarkable amount from honey bees as they are one of the most important species on the planet. When you think of one honey bee, you might think they are too small to make a difference; however, one bee can pollinate 5,000 flowers a day. That's the most important thing I learned over my five years of keeping honey bees, as maybe I could make a difference in helping the planet.

         Hello honey and bee lovers, my name is Nathan Halsey and I'm the beekeeper behind Halsey's Hives. My hives are currently located in Wake Forest/Rolesville N.C. I am a first generation beekeeper and I learned from youtube videos and mentors throughout the state. At the beginning of my journey, I knew since I lived in an urban area, I wasn't allowed to raise bees. However, I didn't let this stop me. I quickly put letters in mailboxes across my town to see who could let me put some hives on their land. Someone did, and I have been there since. My passion has grown as I only had one hive in 2019, then 6 hives in 2020 and 2021, 10 hives in 2022 and now 5 hives in 2023-2024. I have learned about the hierarchy of a beehive and how they work together to perform remarkable tasks. They are one of the smartest animals; for example, they do a waggle dance to tell each other the exact location of a flower source.

        However I have also learned about some negative aspects of keeping bees. Climate change and the weather have changed my habits of keeping bees; unfortunately, every year, it is harder for me to keep them alive. I have paid so much attention to the weather because if it didn’t rain or if it was exceptionally hot for extended periods, the bees would suffer. Let me tell you something though, when they were irritable from drought or heat, it wasn’t just one bee that was angry; it was the whole hive. That would come with a lot of stings when I inspected them. On the other hand, watching them suffer often made my heart sink and made me even more passionate about saving the environment. These honey bees work together to make the impossible, possible and now it's our time to do the same for our planet.

      Thank you for your interest in Halsey's Hives and hope you get to try some local raw honey. These honey bees work together to make the impossible, possible and now it's our time to do the same for our planet.

My Honey

      Halsey's Hives honey is local to the Wake Forest/Rolesville area in which the bees gather nectar 3 to 5 miles from their hive. Some flowers that you might taste is clover, apple/peach blossom, milkweed, tulip poplar, oak, dandelion, wild blackberry, black locust, and others. If you see a flowering weed in your yard especially dandelion, don't spray with a herbicide as it could harm my bees. Did you know that when bees make honey it could be mixed with pollen, propolis (bee glue they make from tree sap) and lots of antioxidants.

My Beekeeping Certification

        In the summer of 2020, I took the coursework and practical exam to become a NC Certified Beekeeper.  I really enjoyed learning all the new techniques and information from the classes and meeting other beekeepers in the area as well.