Can you combine 2 swarms?

[Tom Cannon]

Hi All,
Just got started on Beemaster, and love this wonderfull hobby.I got 3 pkg's of Bee's with Italian queens and put them in there new home a couple of weeks ago and seem to be doing fine.
now for the adventure part...

I got a small swarm about a week ago that had just started building comb in an old farm house. I put the comb in 2 frames with rubber bands and wire to hold them up. After checking on them in a couple of days, the combs have collasp ed and can only pull the 2 frame out together because of there repair job tieing the 2 frames together. This was a small swarm as it was just getting started.
fast forward to today...

Got another swarm from a branch, " just a little bigger than a football". They are tucked away in a nuc box waiting for it to stop raining.
Question is:

Can i combine this swarm with the smaller swarm making the weird looking comb repair job to increase it's size?

If any one can give me some pointers here, it would really help out.
Tom

[SgtMaj]

You can combine them if you pinch one of the queens... If it were me though I'd at least wait to see which queen is the better one before combining if that's what you want to do.

[Tom Cannon]

Thanks sgtmaj,
How would i know if one is better than the other? Tom

[SgtMaj]

By the brood pattern and volume, as well as the temperament of the bees in the hives.

[Tom Cannon]

OK, thanks for the info.
UPS just dropped off my new hive locator instrument... an e-bay stethoscope. Works good on the nuc in the truck.
take care