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HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[Nov. 1, 1869. 



LIGURIAN BEES. 



A CORRESPONDENT of Science-Gossip 

 Laving put forward a query whether the 

 Ligurian Bees are a distinct species, I think I 

 cannot answer it better than by giving some account 

 of them. 



The Ligurian or Italian Alp Bee (A. Ligustica) is 

 a species indigenous to the South of Europe, being 

 found between the two mountain-chains to the 

 right and left of Lombardy and the Rhetian Alps, 

 and comprises the whole territory of Tessin, 

 Peltlin, and South Grawbunden. Although from 

 time immemorial it has been cultivated with success 

 in Italy in the same way as the common bee in the 

 northern parts of Europe, and was well known by 

 naturalists to exist there and to have all the honey- 

 producing properties of the black bee, it is not 

 a little singular that no one appears to have 

 attempted to introduce and acclimatize it, until 

 about ten years ago. The merit of its first introduc- 

 tion is claimed by Messrs. Neighbour & Sons, and 

 Mr. T. W. Woobury, of Exeter, but it will be unne- 

 cessary for me to enter into their respective claims. 

 The Ligurians, like the common bees, are 

 divided into three clases : — first, queens ; second, 

 workers, or undeveloped females; and third, 

 drones, or males. They vary slightly from the 

 black bees in their physical characteristics. The 

 difference consists in the first rings of the abdomen, 

 except the posterior edge, and the base of the 

 third being of a deep orange-colour, instead of a dark 

 brown. These orange rings are almost transparent 

 when closely examined in the sun ; the drones 

 have these bands scalloped, and attain a great size, 

 being half as large again as the black drones. Both 

 the queens and workers are somewhat larger ; the 

 latter, too, differ in their longer and more slender 

 form. Whether they differ anatomically, I am 

 unable to state from personal observation ; one 

 writer, however, says :—" Naturalists consider the 

 Italian a very superior race, and that the various 

 organs are stronger and of greater capacity ; it is, 

 however, not easy to define the precise superiority." 

 Their cell-construction, too, differs, the Ligurians 

 building them broader and deeper, fifteen of their 

 cells being equal to sixteen of the common kind. 



Baron von Berlespsch, an eminent German 

 apiarian, thus sums up their advantages. He says 

 that he has found—" 1. That the Italian bees are 

 less sensitive to cold than the common kind. 2. 

 That their queens are more prolific. 3. That the 

 colonies swarm earlier and more frequently. 4. 

 That they are less apt to sting. 5. They are more 

 industrious. 6. That they are more disposed to rob 

 than the common bees, and are more courageous 

 and active in self-defence. They strive, whenever 

 opportunity offers, to force their way into colonies 

 of common bees ; but when strange bees attack 



their hives, they fight with great fierceness and with 

 incredible adroitness." Most of the Baron's opinions 

 I can endorse, but I cannot agree with him that they 

 are less apt to sting ; perhaps they may be, until 

 interfered with, in any way ; but once excite their 

 anger, and they will sting much more fiercely than 

 the black bees. The fecundity of the queen is 

 amazing ; competent authorities state that in the 

 height of the breeding season she will lay from 

 1,000 to 3,000 eggs per day. An anecdote, related 

 by Alfred Neighbour, in his book on bees, will illus- 

 trate their intrusive propensities. He says : "Another 

 bee-keeper, living in the same neighbourhood of our 

 apiary, when inspecting our hives, observed the 

 yellow bees : he exclaimed, ' Now, I have found out 

 where those strange-looking bees come from ; for,' 

 said he, ' these yellow-jackets are incessant visitors 

 to my hives. I thought they were a species of wasp 

 that had come to rob, and until now I have been 

 unable to account for their appearance at my hives, 

 so that I have killed them by hundreds.' " My own 

 Ligurians have increased in such a manner as to 

 astonish bee-keepers here ; certainly, they are not 

 generally very scientific, the old straw hive and 

 brimstone- pit being the rule, not the exception. 

 Erom my original stock this year there issued three 

 swarms: the first, an enormous one, came off in May, 

 and was dully followed by the second and third ; on 

 the 9th of July, in spite of supers and ventilation, 

 the prime swarm threw off a virgin swarm weighing 

 5 lb. ; this was followed by a second, which I pru- 

 dently returned to the parent hive ; yet all my stocks 

 are now strong, and will doubtless go through the 

 winter well, all but the last swarm being well pro- 

 visioned. There is one peculiarity I have observed 

 about their swarming which deserves mentioning. 

 It is this, that they never hang out in a cluster at 

 the entrance of the hive before that great event ; it 

 would appear as though they thought that " where 

 there is a will there is a way," and accordingly 

 cram themselves into the hive, even at the risk of 

 being suffocated. 



I can hardly agree with J. W. Stroud, when he 

 says there are no hybrid drones. Thus, suppose an 

 Italian princess unites with a black drone, she will 

 breed a mixed queen and worker progeny, but pure 

 drones ; but suppose this mating with black drones 

 continues through several generations, we should, 

 according to J. W. Stroud, get a queen breeding 

 almost pure black bees, but pure Ligurian drones. 

 This seems to be a subject which will bear further 

 investigation. I think there can be no doubt 

 that the Ligurians are a distinct species ; but that 

 they are very nearly allied is also evident. At 

 some future time I hope to be able to give some 

 account of another honey-bee which has been lately 

 introduced into England; namely, the Egyptian Bee 

 {A.fasciata) ; want of room prevents my doing so 

 now , D. D. B., Cantab. 



