ok, so i want to get a couple of packages to replace winter losses. i don't want to get anymore italians, but that is all i could find available in my area and price range ( i ordered late ). can i make nucs from my existing hive, allowing them to begin raising queens prior to receiving my packages and then add the packages to the nucs before the queens hatch? or after ? would this work and which would be the best scenario ? my concern is if i remove the queen from the package and then give them a different queen they may kill her. should i have queens ready in advance and put them into cages with the packages instead ? any insights greatly appreciated.
I would run the italians in the package as a separate unit and requeen them at the honey flow. The tinkering you are considering may result in you ending up with nothing. The solution is to order earlier next year.
You can always order packages without queens.