This article is a thorough review of the Beeline Apiaries Complete Starter Hive Kit. It is primarily geared towards beginners to beekeeping, as is the product itself, but contains useful information for all interested in the activity. First, we will take you through a comprehensive overview of the product itself and its features, and then compare it to similar kits on the market. By the end of this article, an interested purchaser of an apiary kit will have all of the information necessary to make a satisfactory purchase and get started on beekeeping.
What Is The Beeline Apiaries Complete Starter Hive Kit?
The Beeline Apiaries Complete Starter Hive Kit is the complete package of tools needed to start, and succeed in, beekeeping (except the bees themselves). It is a complete and convenient home for your bees. The modern design featured in this beehive makes honeybee management easier and safer. In addition to the home itself, the kit comes with an inner cover, a screened bottom board, entrance reducer, entrance feeder, goatskin gloves, a hive tool, smoker, bee suit, and a beginner book.
Another selling point to the Beeline Apiaries Complete Starter Hive Kit is that it comes painted and is assembled upon delivery, which makes it extremely easy for a novice or an experienced keeper who maybe doesn’t have the time for those preliminary hive adjustments and preparations.
Product Specs
Features at the foremost of consideration when choosing a hive comprise quality materials, safety for bees, affordability, opportunity for expansion, and convenience in feeding and handling. The Beeline Apiaries Complete Starter Hive Kit satisfies all of these needs. The hive itself is constructed from quality wood and the other components are constructed with high-quality materials that will withstand elements and normal wear while keeping the bees safe and secure.
The design takes bee safety very seriously. The structure makes it impossible to harm the queen in any way when removing and replacing frames. There is a queen excluder in the hive that keeps the queen in her safe position while allowing worker bees to pass in and out as needed. The design of the interior and its various frames and components ensure compatibility with similar accessories, which allows for both safety, ease of monitoring and extraction of honey, and the opportunity for expansion if needed.
The interior of the hive is essential to the functionality for the bees and the construction of their combs, and this concept was foremost in the design behind the Beeline Apiaries Complete Starter Hive Kit. There is a hive stand to be placed at the base of the hive in order to keep it off of the ground to avoid things such as unwanted moisture collecting and causing rotting or infestation of other insects, such as termites. The entrance to the hive is adjustable with the Beeline Apiaries Complete Starter Kit, and this also contributes to the safety and comfort of your colony.
Pricing
The Beeline Apiaries Complete Hive Starter Kit, with all of its excellent craftsmanship and extra, important beekeeping accessories, can be purchased with ease at a reasonable price. The best place to purchase is Amazon, where it is currently up for around two hundred and fifty. While not cheap, for a quality hive and all of the additional tools and accessories this is incredibly reasonable pricing.
How It Compares
We picked a few similar products available on the market to see how they compare:
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We have placed this starter kit in the mid-to-low range of prices for apiary starter kits. The price is not much higher than the others and it comes with more accessories which will not have to be purchased congruently.
The Beeline Apiaries Complete Starter Hive Kit ranks at the top for ease of use. It comes already painted and assembled and features all of the necessary accessories (except the bees!) to get started immediately.
Assembly time is nonexistent! A new beekeeper has enough to learn about bees without worrying about assembling the hive incorrectly. Additionally, this ensures that the construction is as durable as possible.
The Beeline Apiaries Complete Starter Hive Kit ranks highly for design quality, as it comes with design features that prioritize bee safety, durability, and ease of use. The wood is treated and sturdy, the hive is well-insulated, there is a queen excluder, and the entrance can be narrowed as needed. All of the necessary bases are covered with this hive.
For the reasons outlined above, the Beeline Apiaries Complete Starter Hive Kit is one of the most beginner-friendly on the market. It comes pre-assembled and is of standard dimensions, making expansion a breeze.
- Delivered assembled and painted
- Designed to be compatible with other hive components, allowing for add-ons and adjustments
- Designed with a spacious interior, allowing for colony growth
- Constructed with ventilation and insulation for maximum bee comfort and health
- Secure from intruders, predators, and other pests that could harm or impede the colony
- Delivered with all accessories needed to get started immediately
- Priced reasonably
- Slightly heavier than other hives, particularly when filled with honey
- Slightly pricier than other starter kits, but not so when factoring in everything included that others do not
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This hive is approximately the same size as the Beeline Apiaries Complete Starter Hive Kit. Overall, the two kits are similar. This one comes pre-assembled and painted, is sturdy, is designed with an entrance reducer and inner cover, and is accompanied by important accessories such as gloves, a veil (that needs a helmet, which is not included), a smoker with guard, a hive tool, and a beginner’s book.
Price $$
The Mann Lake Kit is in the same price range as the Beeline Apiaries Complete Starter Hive Kit. It is listed on Amazon for around two hundred dollars. It is important to note that the kit does not include a feeder, helmet for the veil, or suit.
This hive kit is pre-assembled, accompanied by an instructional book, and operates much like the Beeline Apiaries Complete Starter Hive Kit. This places it in the top-ranking for ease of use. It features most of the necessary accessories to get started as soon as the bees are introduced, and the standard design allows for hassle-free inspection and honey-gathering.
Some might want to build their own, but for beginners or already busy beekeepers, zero assembly time means more time to focus on learning the ways of beekeeping and initiating the colony sooner. This is why we give the Mann Lake Basic Starter Kit 5 stars for this category.
The design of this hive is generally high-quality. Customer satisfaction is relatively high and the hive includes most of the standard features expected for hive safety and comfort. There have been some customer complaints concerning the quality of some pieces. The company, Mann Lake, has been said to respond effectively to quality complaints, and the standard design means other hive parts and accessories can easily be added or exchanged.
This kit, like the others being reviewed in this article, is geared toward beginners. But there are certain things about beekeeping that a novice might not know or might more easily overlook in the process of learning a new hobby. Two such things are the feeder for the hive and the queen excluder, which this kit does not include.
- Delivered assembled and painted
- Designed to be compatible with other hive components, allowing for add-ons and adjustments
- Designed with a spacious interiorallowing for colony growth
- Constructed with ventilation and insulation for maximum bee comfort and health
- Secure from intruders, predators, and other pests that could harm or impede the colony
- Delivered with almost all accessories needed to get started immediately: smoker, hive tool, inner cover, bottom board, entrance reducer, gloves, and beginner’s book
- Priced reasonably
- Slightly heavier than other hives, particularly when filled with honey (similar in size to the Beeline Apiaries Complete Starter Hive Kit)
- Slightly pricier than some starter kits
- Does not include hive feeder or queen excluder
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The hive at the center of this particular beginner’s kit is a few pounds lighter than the previous ones discussed in this article. Other than that, the dimension and construction is mostly the same. While it does not come treated, painted, or pre-assembled, customers attest to easy assembly.
Price $
This starter kit has a low price score and can be found on Amazon for around a hundred and fifty. This is cheap for a hive starter kit, but it must also be mentioned that it comes with fewer accessories than other similar kits on the market.
This hive ranks high in ease of use due to its standard design, not unlike the others that have been shown to be easy to use. The frames slide easily and safely and it makes a secure home for the bees.
This rating is not low, but for obvious reasons could not be as high as the pre-assembled hives. Not only is it not pre-assembled, but the wood also needs to be treated and painted before use, which adds to assembly time. That being said, many customers applaud the ease of assembly and the fact that it only takes a few hours.
This hive uses quality wood and its interior is spacious enough for the colony. Its design is standard, making it extendable and changeable. However, there have been complaints of pieces not fitting together quite right and of certain sections being too thin or cracking too easily. Although these complaints are not universal, they must be taken into consideration when evaluating the quality.
Many beginners use this kit and have no issues whatsoever. However, in comparing it to other beginner’s kits, it is clear that this one does not go above and beyond in accommodating its user.
- Opportunity to independently assemble
- Designed to be compatible with other hive components, allowing for add-ons and adjustments
- Designed with a spacious interior for colony growth
- Constructed to be both ventilated and insulated
- Delivered with some additional tools and accessories
- Reasonably priced
- Not pre-treated, painted, or assembled
- Does not include as many tools as the Beeline Apiaries Complete Starter Hive Kit
- Some quality complaints
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This beehive is constructed with standard dimensions, high-quality wood, and similar design to the others on your list. The kit comes with a lot of tools and accessories that other kits were lacking. It does not come pre-assembled and does not have all the important extras that the Beeline Apiaries Complete Starter Hive Kit does; but we consider this to be a close follow-up.
Price $$
This hive kit can be found on Amazon for around two hundred fifty and only necessitates the purchasing of a few beekeeping extras.
Wood treating and painting are required in addition to the assembly. The assembly is not particularly challenging, but can be unpleasant and is avoidable with other products. The spacious design of the interior allows for smooth and safe operation and maintenance, and the tools allow the beginner to have everything needed all in one place.
Assembly time is slightly longer than the time for the Honey Keeper, and some customers have complained of confusing or vague assembly instructions. But, it is not dramatically worse and a decent woodworker would have no issues putting this hive together.
This is considered a quality hive. It comes with an entrance feeder and entrance reducer, which are extremely helpful in initiating and maintaining the colony. There have been customer complaints of wood issues.
Although this kit does require assembly, it does come with a lot of tools and accessories that really help the beginner along in their discovery of beekeeping.
- Opportunity to independently assemble
- Designed to be compatible with other hive components allowing for add-ons and adjustments
- Designed with a spacious interior for colony growth
- Secure from intruders, predators, and other pests that could harm or impede the colony
- Delivered with some additional tools and accessories
- Constructed to be both ventilated and insulated
- Delivered with almost all accessories needed to get started immediately: smoker, hive tool, inner cover, entrance reducer, gloves, veil, and beginner’s book
- Not pre-treated, painted, or assembled
- Does not include as many tools as the Beeline Apiaries Complete Starter Hive Kit, like the queen excluder
- Some quality complaints
After a thorough comparative analysis of various beginner beekeeping kits, the Beeline Apiaries Complete Starter Hive Kit comes out on top with 5 out of 5 stars. The cons are minimal at most and not unique to this kit. The price is reasonable, the features maximal, and its quality and ease of use surpass other similar items on the market. All you have to do is get the Beeline Apiaries Complete Starter Hive Kit, get the bees, and then get started as an apiarist.
Last update on 2021-04-19 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API