Christina,

I have no objection to beginners starting with packages.  I agree with all
your points, plus the additional points of no comb residues or spores, and
a brood break to break the reproductive cycle of varroa and other parasites.

That said, in areas like mine where the flow comes on early and is then
over, it very difficult to build a package to a producing hive in the first
season.

Additionally, the data collected over the past few years by an active Calif
county with a large population of hobby beekeepers suggests that colonies
founded with nucs had nearly twice the survival rate of those started with
packages.  There would obviously be many factors involved in this, so I'm
not saying that the difference is solely due to package vs. nuc, but these
data suggest that there may be benefits to beginners in Calif by starting
with nucs.

-- 
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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