One of the most significant things to do is sort out the important decisions from the less vital decisions. If you pay attention to the rest of this you'll see that barely anything I WOULD buy is in a beginner beekeeper starter kit.
I would like to point out that there are a lot of things in beekeeping you be able to easily change as you go along. There is no point stressing out over these things. There are other things in beekeeping that are an investment and are difficult to modify later.
Getting Bees.
First you have to decide how to find some bees. It's very hard to get them from a tree or a neighbor's house when you really do not know anything about them. This is in truth an advanced undertaking. That said, I acknowledge that is exactly what I do. I took them out of houses and trees and bought some queens. But I in fact didn't do so well at it and I got stung a lot. So all in all I don't believe it was that good for the bees, although it was educational for me.
If you have local beekeepers you may be able to get a nuc or some frames of brood etc. The downside to this is they are almost certainly on Deep frames (9 ¼" frames that go in a 9 5/8" box). I'm not going to recommend deeps.
You can order package bees. I used to get them through the mail, but lately that has gotten more and more expensive. Most locations you can find a bee supply place that brings in a truck load of package bees in the spring. If you locate a local bee club or organization they will almost certainly be able to advise you on this. Two packages would be a good start.
Race of Bees
Assuming you are going to buy a package of bees, the next decision is what race. I hate to not have an view, but I in fact haven't seen a race of honeybees I didn't like. Well, I did need a number of really mean ones once, but they were the same breed I had been raising for decades. I will recommend you get something that is not a hybrid and can be open bred through you with good results. Caucasian, Italian, Cordovan (Italian), Russian and Carniolans are all fine. Take your pick.
Protective Beekeeping Equipment (Beekeeping clothing)
Minimum equipment is a veil and a smoker. I would recommend a jacket with a veil instead of the veil and a ful beekeeping suit for those times you need more security. Also a spray bottle of light syrup (2 parts water 1 part sugar by volume), and an Italian Hive tool (Brushy Mt.). A bee brush. A hair clip queen catcher. A good frame grip is nice, but not necessary.
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