The Beekeeper's Starter Pack

Beekeeping is the most incredibly interesting and rewarding and hobby, without doubt. There are always new things to learn and discover about these fascinating and all-important insects, not to mention the pure joy and smugness of getting to have 'home-made' honey on your toast!

However, the amount of beekeeping advice and equipment available is infinite, and for newbies (awful pun avoided!) this is quite overwhelming. If you don't know your Dadants from your WBC's or Langstroths, it's easy to be put off or get the wrong thing.

Mark, the founder of Buzz Box, has designed the Starter Pack to make your first steps into beekeeping as easy and enjoyable as possible.

The Pack Includes:

The Buzz Box Guide:

Designed to guide new beekeepers into beekeeping in the UK by giving a clear overview of how it all works. It is a map that gives a good overview of where to get additional information that is most relevant to you. 

The information in this guide was been gathered and sifted through during the first few years of Mark's beekeeping journey. It is an online resource that is being updated continually so that you can come back to it whenever you need to.

Information about how to access The Buzz Box Guide will be provided with your Buzz Box.

A Complete Hive:

The Buzz Box hive is a UK National Hive which is the most common type of hive used here in the UK. It is delivered flat-packed and includes the following:

- The Brood Box* (where the Queen lays eggs to keep the colony populated) 

- 10 x Brood Frames & Wax Foundation (to go in the Brood Box)

- 2 x Supers* (where the bees make and store honey)

- 20 x Super Frames & Wax Foundation (for the Supers)

- A Roof (to keep everything dry)

- A Crown Board (keeps bees out of the roof space, and has other uses)

- A Queen Excluder (stops Her Royal Highness from laying eggs in the supers)

- The Hive Floor with Entrance Block and Varroa Board

- A Feeder

* "The Brood Box and Supers have Perspex windows built in so that you can look inside and see the bees working on the comb without disturbing them. Very few hives have windows but this is my favourite feature; I love wandering down to the bees with a cup of tea to have a quick peek!" 

Mark, Founder of Buzz Box

The Tools and Gear:

- A Smoker (used to keep the bees calm, if needed, when you're inspecting them)

- A Hive Tool (the most important tool a beekeeper can have)

- A Beekeeping Suit (Also essential, despite what you might see on social media!)

- A pair of leather Beekeeping Gloves

Not Included:

- The Bees! (essential, but they don't do well after flat-packing! There are lots of ways to get your first colony, all explained in the guide)