For some it is the honey - pound after pound of it pouring from the extractor, light or dark, viscous or runny, with its own aroma filling the air. The cash from honey sales may be important, or just a bonus, or the beekeeper may be gripped by the urge to compete in honey shows, pursuing perfection in product and presentation. Whichever, the feat of individual bees each carrying a milligram of nectar into the hive to produce super upon super of stored honey makes every beekeeper marvel. Insights into a creature of great complexity and fascination await each time we lift off the crownboard to look inside the hive, or watch the bees at the entrance.

There is the satisfaction of good animal husbandry, knowing the bees are well-fed, healthy and housed in clean dry hives, safe from pests. Others can't help becoming fascinated by the flowers that the bees visit. Although in the summer the bees will fly miles to forage, in spring the plants close to the hive become important, and the gardener, looking through the bees' eyes, wants plants that give early nectar, and pollen to get the colony off to a flying start.

Plants, flowers, weather, geology, photography, chemistry, biology, marketing, research or just straightforward fun - you won't exhaust the possibilities of beekeeping in 50 years.

The Standard Kit consists of:

A complete hive of your choice

"Bees at the Bottom of the Garden" by Alan Campion
Paynes recommend that all beginner beekeepers should have this book, as it will steer them through the first fun and challenging year of beekeeping. It is clearly written without unnecessary complications to confuse the beginner.

Chapters: Introduction; What do you need to keep bees; The honey bee-Apis Mellifera; A home for the bees; Protective clothing and equipment, Queens, drones and workers; Siting the hive; One week later - checking for expansion; Summer into autumn; Autumn and the honey crop; Autumn feeding; Preparing for winter; Winter comes; Spring; Living with rape!; Swarming; Quick reference pages; Diseases of bees; Alternative systems.

a standard galvanised smoker
An Ideal smoker to get yourself started with in beekeeping. The galvanised Smoker is the budget equivalent of the early tin models but should last a long time with care.

Jacket and veil
Combined hat, jacket and veil. Hat and veil is attached to the jacket with a heavy duty zip which allow the hat and veil to be removed completely. Polyester cotton. Elasticated wrists. Large pocket at front.

Rubber gloves with gauntlets
Plastic gloves with an inner lining, complete with Gauntlets.

stainless steel hive tool
An essential and indispensable piece of equipment. Three types ae available. In stainless steel we have the traditional standard tool, 10" long with sharpened ends - very useful for scraping top bars.

Bag of CC Smoker Fuel
Direct from a cotton processor in the USA this clean, raw cotton waste consists of short fibres and cotton seed husks that are compressed under high pressure. The Cotton Cartridges (CC) are the ideal shape for smoker fireboxes. When alight it produces a cool white smoke, free of all chemicals.

1 gallon feeder.
A white plastic bucket with a 3” phosphor bronze mesh disc is sealed into the centre of the lid. Needed for feeding before winter sets in, or early spring to help boost smaller colonies.

Fill with sugar to about 1” from the top and add warm water. Stir to mix and release air trapped in the sugar. Continue until fully dissolved. Add more water until the feeder is completely full. Press lid on firmly and securely and quickly invert the feeder. Place over the feed hole of the crownboard on the hive. Inside the feeder a vacuum forms so the sugar solution remains in the feeder until the bees feed through the mesh.