# Beekeeping in a bottle.



## Akademee (Apr 5, 2020)

I like how the hive comes with its own solar wax melter!

Kidding aside, its a cool concept that probably works best in colder climates.


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

Akademee said:


> I like how the hive comes with its own solar wax melter!
> 
> Kidding aside, its a cool concept that probably works best in colder climates.


Or well shaded.
Notice built-in ventilation holes too.
PS: this crazy dude (I LOVE his YT channel) lives near St. Petersburn, Russia - it is a very cool climate, confirmed.
PPS: nothing wrong with just wrapping the bottles into Refletix or something - not everything needs to be show-pretty.


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## Deepwoods (Jan 9, 2019)

It's a novel way to do crush & strain beekeeping. I think if that was my goal and I wanted to do it at low cost with salvaged materials a Sam Comfort style hive would be a lot less effort. The bees and the skewers would be the same! 
As Sam says, a dumpster usually has most of the material you need...


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

Deepwoods said:


> ...
> As Sam says, a dumpster usually has most of the material you need...


Why, no need to quote Sam C.
Here:








Dirt Cheap Bee Keeping!


Thinking about a book that could be co produced by Greg V and Little_john; something like "Dirt Cheap Subsistence Beekeeping"!. Seriously there have been a wealth of ideas about how to have your own honey with an absolute minimum of purchased equipment. Forget about the virtue signalling 500 or...




www.beesource.com


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## adrock (Mar 19, 2021)

Out of curiosity anyone have an idea of how many states in the U.S. you are allowed to keep bees without removable frames?


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## JConnolly (Feb 21, 2015)

adrock said:


> Out of curiosity anyone have an idea of how many states in the U.S. you are allowed to keep bees without removable frames?


Seven. The old Beesource site used to have a PDF of a comparison chart of state bee laws and the chart showed state by state movable frame requirements. I'll be d**n*d if I can find that chart under the new forum, I've tried. The number of states has possibly changed since then.

Careful with the terminology. Movable comb is a more correct term than movable frame. A Kenyan top bar hive has no frames, only top bars, but the comb is movable, and thus legal in all states. A traditional Warre has top bars but the comb is not movable, so is not legal unless modified to use frames with bee space that keeps the comb from being attached to the box walls.


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## adrock (Mar 19, 2021)

All very interesting JConnolly. Thank you very much for the “schooling”. Truly do appreciate it


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

A short follow-up video.
Main point of it - the bees live on the combs, by and large.
Not in a boxes, not on some frames, not in the trees, not in the bottles.
Bees live *on the combs *first and foremost (wherever those combs happen to be, if even on a branch).
Those combs could be placed most anywhere - but that is secondary.
This is what people must understand.


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

Commentary about the "bottle beekeeping" by one of popular, experienced vloggers.
His main point - this video is good for the bee and beekeeping popularization (talking about millions of views).
What maybe bad - most of the viewers are non-beekeepers and they will get all kinds of wrong ideas (but nothing new there).
Must use English subs if a non-Russian viewer.


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

More follow up.
All kinds of interesting commentary - including the comments by Адвокат Егоров (the bottle beekeeper) himself.
FYI - those comments are easily converted into English


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

And someone is already looking to try and monetize the idea:


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## Cristan (Jan 8, 2022)

Such an interesting idea!


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

GregB said:


> And someone is already looking to try and monetize the idea:
> ..........


Sure enough, this guy mean business.
He now started making these bottle-colonies for sale.

Start watching at 1:15 for actual population of the bottles.


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## William Bagwell (Sep 4, 2019)

GregB said:


> Sure enough, this guy mean business.
> He now started making these bottle-colonies for sale


Looks smaller than five gallons, have you caught the size? 

Probably not legal in most of the US... Just happen to have an old five gallon water cooler jug. Might get away with a single OB hive  

Who am I kidding, at least 400 'retirement projects' ahead of this one.


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

William Bagwell said:


> Looks smaller than five gallons, have you caught the size?


Pretty sure something along 1-2 gallons (5 litres).
But remember - these bottles are connectable to each other.
There will be one more added on the top; then more.


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

Update a month later.
Notice - I caught the sizing of his bottle - 6 liters (about 1.5 gallon).
He says it weighs just over 2 kilos (about 5 lbs).

Of note - he said the bees out of all his 3 bottles tried to swarm away (this experiment is run on 3 bottles sides by side).
Since the queens were clipped, they could not fly away.

It turned out - he forgot (or did not think of) inserting a strip of old comb into the bottles.
As soon as the old comb was inserted - the bees quickly took it and no longer attempted to escape.
Just the wax splatter on the walls did not attract the bees (nor they used the wax in a noticeable way)


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## William Bagwell (Sep 4, 2019)

GregB said:


> Update a month later.
> Notice - I caught the sizing of his bottle - 6 liters (about 1.5 gallon).


Thanks! Doubt I ever would noticed much less realized that symbol = liters. 

However, really confused about this part,








Do I feed photos or eggplant to my bees? And for how long before I can use the comb in the bottle?


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

William Bagwell said:


> Thanks! Doubt I ever would noticed much less realized that symbol = liters.
> 
> However, really confused about this part,
> *Do I feed photos or eggplant to my bees?* And for how long before I can use the comb in the bottle?


LOL

Anyway, down in the comment section most anyone (including the experiment executor himself) agreed - this is too much hassle over nothing.
He is only doing it because it appeared as if some non-beekeepers showed interest in, possibly, buying "the bees in the bottle".
He himself asserted - this is not a trivial project to accomplish and the non-beekeepers (what is new?!) have too much trust into the apparent simplicity of it (which is turning to be not so).


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## BEE J (10 mo ago)

GregB said:


> Forget hives, try milk jars.


This thread caught my eye, because I saw an ad with this guy yesterday! This technique might be a little to out-there for me. 😄


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