Greg, don't waste your money on packages. If you can find good nucs, they're
much better. Packaged bees have a big fault. When you install a package of bees,
there is no brood. There are no young bees hatching. Which bees feed the young
larvae royal jelly? The young worker bees do, right? What kind of bees are in a
package? Predominantly old bees. Some were young when the package was first
made-of course. They age, and no young bees are hatching for at least three
weeks. So, there comes a time when there are lots of young larvae to be fed
royal jelly. Who's going to feed them. All the package bees are now old, and not
producers of royal jelly. The package may then supercede the queen, blaming her
for the unbalance within the hive. This can be corrected by giving the colony a
frame of emerging brood two weeks after installation of the package. What a
waste. You pay top dollar for another headache!! Believe me, don't waste your
time.
 
Greg Zujus wrote:
 
> The supplier whom I am getting my bees from offers package bees beginning
> April 18 or "Nucs" which will be available May 16th. As this is my first
> season and I have no drawn out comb will I be better off getting the "Nucs"
> or getting the 3 LB packages a month earlier than the "Nucs"?
>
> How established will the package Bees be and how much comb can they draw out
> in a 30 day period ?
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