I'm in complete agreement with Allen's observations.

If there is any sort of flow on, and you don't need a veil, and the bees
are fairly closely related, then no problem with combining.  But use the
least amount of disruption, so that the queen won't run off the frame with
her offspring.

I also often spray lightly scented syrup over both groups of bees in a
combine, such as when putting a queen on a frame into a nuc of unrelated
bees.  I make sure that the side of the frame with the queen is not placed
directly against foreign bees.

I also carry newspaper behind the seat, for instances where called for.
 But I only use a piece that will fit within the inner margins of the hive
bodies--bees will not remove paper that is stuck between the wood sides,
thus requiring time consuming scraping at a later visit.

I also carry JzBz cages, and a jar of miniature marshmallows shaken in
powdered sugar.  If any question, especially during transport, I simply
temporarily cage the queen with a marshmallow plug.  Bees will sometimes
attack their own queen when seriously disturbed.

As Allen says, with experience one learns what is appropriate under various
situations.  This week, for various reasons, I will be swapping at least a
hundred queens from one group of bees to another, using various methods as
appropriate.

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

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