10 Frame Beginner Beekeeping Starter Kit (1 Deep + 1 Medium, Assembled ) - Wax Dipped or Painted

10 Frame Beginner Beekeeping Starter Kit

Start Beekeeping with Assembled Hive Equipment and Essential Supplies

The 10 Frame Beginner Beekeeping Starter Kit from Lappe's Bee Supply brings together assembled Langstroth hive equipment, protective gear, feeding supplies, and basic beekeeping accessories to help new beekeepers prepare for their first colony. With the hive boxes and frames already assembled, you can spend less time building equipment and more time learning how to manage your bees.

This kit includes one deep hive body for brood rearing and one medium super for additional hive space when colony conditions warrant. Choose from painted or wax-dipped woodenware and available frame and bottom board configurations. The kit provides an organized starting point, with room to expand using compatible 10-frame Langstroth equipment as your colony develops.

What's Included in the 10 Frame Beginner Beekeeping Starter Kit?

The 10 Frame Beginner Beekeeping Starter Kit from Lappe's Bee Supply includes assembled Langstroth hive equipment, protective clothing, feeding supplies, essential beekeeping tools, and educational resources to help new beekeepers prepare for their first honey bee colony. Choose from available woodenware finishes, frame styles, bottom boards, and protective clothing options to customize your starter kit.

Hive Equipment

• 1 Assembled 10-Frame Deep Hive Body: Provides the initial brood-rearing space for your colony.
• 1 Assembled 10-Frame Medium Honey Super: Provides additional honey-storage space when colony development and nectar conditions support its use.
• 10 Deep Frames with Foundation: Choose between assembled wooden frames with triple-wax-coated foundation or one-piece triple-wax-coated plastic frames. Black and yellow foundation or frame color options are available according to your selected frame style.
• 10 Medium Frames with Foundation: Choose between assembled wooden frames with triple-wax-coated foundation or one-piece triple-wax-coated plastic frames.
• 1 Inner Cover: Fits beneath the outer cover as part of the hive's upper covering system.
• 1 Telescoping Outer Cover: Provides the exterior top cover for the hive.
• 1 Bottom Board: Choose between a solid bottom board or a screened bottom board.
• 1 In-Hive Frame Feeder with Cap and Ladders: Provides a way to supply supplemental feed when colony conditions require it.

Beekeeping Tools and Protective Clothing

• 1 Stainless Steel Bee Smoker: Used to produce smoke during hive inspections and routine colony management.
• Smoker Fuel: Included for use with the bee smoker.
• 1 Hive Tool: Helps separate hive components, loosen propolis seals, and assist with routine inspections.
• 1 Bee Brush: Allows beekeepers to gently move bees from frames and equipment when needed.
• 1 Bee Suit or Bee Jacket: Choose your preferred protective clothing option from the available selections.
• 1 Pair of Goatskin Beekeeping Gloves: Select your preferred glove size when configuring your kit.

Beekeeping Education

• Homegrown Honey Bees Book: Provides beginner-friendly information about establishing and managing honey bee colonies.
• 1-Year Beekeeping Magazine Subscription: Choose between American Bee Journal or Bee Culture.

Important Frame and Feeder Information

Important: Live Honey Bees Are Not Included. This starter kit includes beekeeping equipment and supplies, but does not include a live honey bee colony, package bees, nucleus colony (nuc), or queen bee. Live bees must be purchased separately. If you plan to install a nucleus colony, confirm that its frames are compatible with your 10-frame Langstroth deep hive body.

The kit includes 20 frames total: 10 deep frames for the deep brood box and 10 medium frames for the medium honey super. These are not 20 deep brood frames.

The included in-hive frame feeder occupies space inside the hive that would otherwise be available for frames. When installing the feeder, adjust the number of frames in the brood box according to the feeder's actual fit and available space.

Before Ordering: Review your selected woodenware finish, frame style, foundation or frame color, bottom board, protective clothing, glove size, and magazine subscription to ensure your starter kit matches your preferences.

Why Choose This 10-Frame Beekeeping Starter Kit?

A Practical Starting Configuration for New Beekeepers

This starter kit brings together assembled hive equipment, protective clothing, feeding supplies, essential tools, and educational resources. By providing these core supplies in one configuration, the kit simplifies equipment selection for beginners preparing to establish their first colony.

Assembled Equipment Saves Preparation Time

The wooden hive boxes and frames arrive assembled, eliminating the need to construct those components before setting up your hive. You'll still need to choose a suitable hive location, arrange the equipment, and prepare for the arrival of your bees.

A Familiar, Expandable Hive System

The standard 10-frame Langstroth system allows beekeepers to add appropriately compatible brood boxes, honey supers, frames, and replacement components as colony needs change. This makes it possible to build on your initial equipment rather than replace the entire hive setup.

Options to Match Your Preferences

Choose between painted and wax-dipped woodenware, along with the available frame and bottom board configurations. These choices let you consider exterior wood protection, maintenance preferences, and how you plan to manage your hive.

Understanding Your Deep Brood Box and Medium Honey Super

The 10 Frame Beginner Beekeeping Starter Kit includes one assembled deep brood box and one medium honey super. These components serve different purposes as your colony develops.

Deep Brood Box: Your Colony's Starting Point

The included 10-frame deep hive body provides the initial space for brood rearing, where the queen lays eggs and the colony raises developing bees. As your colony grows, additional brood equipment may be necessary depending on your management system and colony conditions.

Medium Honey Super: Room for Honey Storage

The included medium super provides additional honey-storage space when colony strength, nectar availability, and storage needs justify its use. It does not need to be installed immediately when establishing a new colony.

Why This Combination Works for Beginners

By including one deep brood box and one medium honey super, this starter kit provides equipment for establishing the initial brood area while giving the beekeeper a compatible honey super for future use. The combination allows beginners to start with essential hive equipment and expand as colony conditions require.

Important: The medium honey super is not a substitute for an additional deep brood box when more brood-rearing space is needed. Monitor colony development and plan for compatible 10-frame expansion equipment as necessary.

Choosing Your Starter Kit Options

Painted or Wax-Dipped Woodenware?

Both finish options provide an approach to exterior wood protection. The right choice depends on your preferred appearance and maintenance expectations.

Neither finish eliminates the need to inspect and maintain wooden hive equipment.

Choosing Your Frame Style

Your frame selection affects the type of foundation and frame construction you will use when managing your colony.

Assembled Wooden Frames with Triple-Wax-Coated Foundation: These use traditional wooden frame construction with wax-coated foundation.

One-Piece Plastic Frames with Triple-Wax Coating: These use an integrated plastic frame design with a wax-coated surface.

Both styles are intended to fit appropriately sized Langstroth hive equipment. Choose the frame style that best matches your equipment preferences and beekeeping practices.

Choosing Your Bottom Board

Your bottom board forms the base of the hive and affects the lower entrance and floor configuration.

Solid Bottom Board: Provides a continuous floor beneath the colony.

Screened Bottom Board: Provides a screened floor that may support different ventilation and monitoring arrangements, depending on its design.

Choose your bottom board based on your preferred hive-management approach and local conditions.

If you already own hive equipment, confirm its frame format and box depth before purchasing additional components. Eight-frame and 10-frame hive bodies are different equipment formats.

Is This Beginner Beekeeping Kit Right for You?

This kit is intended for someone beginning with a standard 10-frame Langstroth hive who wants assembled woodenware and a selection of basic beekeeping supplies.

It may be a good fit when you:

• Are preparing to establish your first honey bee colony.
• Prefer assembled hive boxes and frames rather than building woodenware yourself.
• Want an initial deep brood box and medium super configuration.
• Plan to use the standard 10-frame Langstroth equipment system.
• Understand that colony growth may require additional equipment during the season.

Beekeepers planning an eight-frame system, a different brood-box arrangement, or a more specialized hive configuration should compare those requirements before choosing this kit.

What to Prepare Before Your Bees Arrive

Lappe's Bee Supply recommends preparing your equipment before your bees arrive. Having the hive, protective equipment, and feeding supplies ready helps you concentrate on proper colony installation and early management.

1. Choose the hive location. Select an appropriate location for your apiary and arrange a stable support for the hive.
2. Inspect the components. Check the assembled hive bodies, frames, bottom board, and covers for proper fit and significant damage.
3. Organize your protective equipment and tools. Make sure the equipment needed for installation and inspections is available.
4. Prepare feeding supplies. Assess the colony's expected feeding needs and have the necessary equipment ready.
5. Plan your initial hive arrangement. Use the deep hive body for the initial brood area and add other hive boxes as colony conditions warrant.
6. Prepare for ongoing management. Learn how to inspect brood development, food stores, colony population, available space, and Varroa mite levels.

Assembled equipment simplifies preparation, but successful beekeeping still requires regular observation, sound management, and attention to seasonal conditions.

When Should You Add More Hive Space?

Lappe's Beekeeping Tip: Stay Ahead of Colony Growth, Not Behind It

For a healthy, actively expanding colony in a 10-frame brood box, approximately 7 to 8 substantially occupied frames is a practical point to evaluate whether additional brood space may be needed.

This is a guideline for assessing colony development, not an automatic instruction to add another box. Consider brood development, colony population, available drawn comb, nectar availability, weather, seasonal timing, and your brood-box management system.

Waiting until a rapidly growing colony is crowded can increase management difficulties and swarming pressure. Adding excessive space before a small colony can effectively occupy it can also complicate management.

The goal is to provide space according to actual colony needs rather than following a fixed calendar.

When Should You Add the Medium Honey Super?

Do not automatically install the included medium super when introducing a new colony. Evaluate colony strength, nectar flow, and available honey-storage space before adding it.

The right timing varies with local forage, weather, colony population, and seasonal development. Having the super ready allows you to respond when the colony needs it.

Planning for Your First Beekeeping Season

The 10 Frame Beginner Beekeeping Starter Kit provides an initial hive configuration, but additional equipment may be needed as your colony develops throughout the season.

Depending on colony growth and your beekeeping management system, you may need:

• Additional Deep Brood Boxes: Provide more brood-rearing space when colony development and your management approach require it. Explore our assembled 10-frame deep hive body with frames for a compatible expansion option.
• Additional Honey Supers: Provide more honey-storage space when colony strength and nectar conditions justify expansion. See our assembled 10-frame medium honey super with frames.
• Compatible Frames and Foundation: Match the frame depth and hive format to the equipment being added. Browse our bee hive frames and foundation to explore available options.
• Feeding Equipment: Additional feeding supplies may be useful depending on colony needs and seasonal conditions. Explore our bee feeding and colony health supplies.
• Varroa Monitoring and Management Supplies: Regular mite monitoring and appropriate management are important parts of maintaining colony health. Browse our medications and pest control supplies for available management products.

Lappe's Beekeeping Tip: Plan ahead for additional equipment, but expand according to your colony's actual development rather than adding hive boxes on a fixed schedule.

Colony health also depends on nutrition, queen performance, weather, forage availability, pest pressure, and ongoing management. Hive equipment alone does not guarantee colony survival, honey production, or prevention of swarming.

Begin with Equipment. Grow with Knowledge.

Lappe's Bee Supply comes from a commercial beekeeping family with experience dating to 1978 and has served beekeepers with equipment and practical beekeeping education since 2017.

Our approach to beginner beekeeping emphasizes understanding the equipment you're purchasing and learning how to use it as colony conditions change. That includes knowing when to expand brood space, when to add honey supers, how to recognize equipment problems, and why regular Varroa monitoring matters.

The 10 Frame Beginner Beekeeping Starter Kit provides the equipment foundation. Your inspections, seasonal decisions, and continued learning are what turn that starting point into an actively managed apiary.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the 10 Frame Beginner Beekeeping Starter Kit include live bees?

No. The kit includes hive equipment, protective clothing, feeding supplies, beekeeping tools, and educational resources, but live honey bees are sold separately. You will need to obtain a compatible package bee colony or nucleus colony to establish your hive.

Does the 10 Frame Beginner Beekeeping Starter Kit arrive assembled?

Yes. The wooden hive boxes and frames arrive assembled, reducing the construction work required before setting up the hive.

What is the difference between the deep hive body and the medium super?

The deep hive body serves as the initial brood-rearing area. The medium super provides additional space commonly used for honey storage when colony strength and nectar conditions warrant its installation.

Can I expand this hive as my colony grows?

Yes. The kit uses the standard 10-frame Langstroth equipment system. Appropriately compatible brood boxes, supers, frames, and replacement components can be added as needed.

Will this starter kit provide enough equipment for the entire first season?

Not necessarily. A growing colony may require additional brood boxes, honey supers, frames, feeding equipment, or other management supplies. Actual needs depend on colony development and local conditions.

When should I consider adding another brood box?

For an actively expanding colony in a 10-frame brood box, substantially occupied frames can help guide expansion decisions. Around seven to eight occupied frames is a useful point to evaluate whether additional brood space is needed. Consider brood development, population, food stores, and local conditions rather than following a fixed schedule.

Should I put the medium super on the hive immediately?

Not automatically. The medium super should be added when colony strength, nectar availability, and honey-storage needs support additional space.

Should I choose painted or wax-dipped woodenware?

Both are available finish options. Consider appearance, exterior wood protection, and ongoing maintenance preferences. Either finish should be inspected as the equipment ages and weathers.

What if a kit component arrives damaged or is missing?

Contact Lappe's Bee Supply promptly with your order information, a description of the issue, and identification of the affected component so the problem can be reviewed under applicable store policies.

Get Ready for Your First Colony

Choose your woodenware finish, frame configuration, and bottom board option to build your preferred 10-frame starter setup. With assembled hive equipment and essential beekeeping supplies brought together in one kit, you'll have a practical foundation for learning, managing, and expanding your apiary.

Start with the right equipment, prepare before your bees arrive, and stay ahead of colony growth as the season progresses.