Bees can be worth it, but the grind is significantly long. Instead of aiming for an alveary to start with the genetics mod, push through magic bees and get some magic apiaries. They can be confusing to use (don't have as much debug info as apiaries), but when filled with frames and boosted via the mod's thaumcraft / botania methods, can pump out impressive amounts of combs. 2 - 3 running constantly with industrial and imperials can get you enough resources to make your first alveary in under an hour. I've done it the normal way, with 12 hives for each, and trust me, the magic apiaries are the way to go.
Some species to aim for
-diamond
-emerald
-redstone
-lapis
-radioactive (having lots of uranium on hand is very helpful)
-the magic bees with the effects empowering and magnification. (not too hard to get, just let it auto cycle for a while on a node in a jar and you won't need to worry about making a large thaumcraft energized node.)
Don't skimp on ic2 power with immersive engineering cables. You'll need it for a while early game, but make sure to create a dedicated ic2 power gen. In addition, make sure you get a solar distillery plant running early for overclockers. Otherwise, the 8 to 1 ratio of lapis can eat up your resources and power later.
If you don't know how to use logistics pipes, learn it. Set it up early (yay laser grind!), and aim to auto craft ic2 parts. This will save you a lot of headache later.
Make around 16 certus crystal seeds and throw them in some water now. You will thank me later.
Don't bee (lol) afraid to use forestry farms early. They are quite cheap, and not very difficult to automate. This is also a really good investment early game, as they can farm agricraft crops.
You will want quite a few ic2 reactors (remember, logistics pipes autocraft is your friend), somewhere around 3 - 5. If you get a good design, not only does this provide extra power (remember, dedicate it to ic2, not anything rf.), you will have plenty of rtg for your first big reactor. This is where the radioactive bees come into play.
Don't overlook oil. If you manage your power system well (don't let your generators run constantly), oil can provide lasting power production when turned to fuel and used in the immersive engineering diesel gen.
If you want a large amount of ore really quickly in the mid game, push for an awakened ichorium pick. You will miss out on some ores there (why no electrotine D: ), but it can provide massive amounts of specific ore really quickly.
Culinary gens will be invaluable in the mid game for power. My recommendation: delicious meals with steves factory manager autocrafting. A max mid sized plot of an mfr autofarm with agricraft crops can supply over 2 64x gens.
The biggest tip I can give you is to try as many things as you can. You never know what options are available to automate something, even if familiar and easy ones are gated farther down the tech tree.
Most of all, enjoy it, as it is a very well designed pack that I have spent many months on, and hopefully, you will too!
