The South African Honby-Bee. 353 



THE SOUTH AFRICAN HONEY-BEE. 



By S. H. Skaife, M.A., M.Sc, Entomologist, School of 

 Agriculture, Cedara, Natal.* 



Inquiries are .sometimes received at Cedara as to whether it is possible 

 to secure colonies of Italian bees or pnre-bred Italian queens any- 

 where in South Africa. This race of bees is a prime favourite with 

 beekeepers in Europe and America on account of their many good 

 qualities, chief among which mu,st be reckoned their powers of 

 resistance to European foul-brood. Where Italian bees are available, 

 this disease is not regarded as a very serious one, fordequeening a 

 diseased colony for a few days and then requeening with a vigorous 

 young Italian queen will generally effect a cure. The recent recogni- 

 lion of the presence of European foul-brood in South Africa renders 

 the question of the availability of pure-bred Italian queens an 

 important one to beekeepers in this country. 



As far as is known to the Entomological Division of the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture no pure-bred Italian stocks are to be found to-day 

 in the Union. Some years ago numbers of Italian queens were 

 imported by private beekeepers, but the race seems to have been a 

 failure under South African conditions, and most of the experienced 

 beekeepers who tried them soon discarded them in favour of the race 

 of bees indigenous to the country. The importation of bees, honey, 

 and unsterilized bees-wax into this country is forbidden by law as a 

 safeguard against the introduction of new diseases. Although it is 

 known definitely now that European foul-brood, sacbrood, paralysis, 

 and nosema disease are already present in the Union, American foul- 

 brood, perhaps the worst scourge of all bee diseases, has so far not 

 been found here. There is no known cure for this latter disease, and 

 the prohibition of the importation of bees and honey into this country 

 is fully justified as the only safeguard against its introduction into 

 South Africa. Hence it is impossible for the South African beekeeper 

 to obtain pure-bred Italian queens and the acquisition of a pure strain 

 of this race is likely to remain impossible for some time to come. The 

 question at once arises, what race or races of bees have we already in 

 South Africa and how do they compare with Italians ? ^ 



In order to answer definitely the first part of this question, it 

 will be necessary to embark on a somewhat technical discussion. The 

 true honey-bees all belong to the genus apis, of which there are several 

 distinct species, but the question as to the exact number of different 

 species of honey-bees there are in, the world has long been in dispute. 

 Apis mellifica is the common honey-bee of Europe and America, and 

 this species is obviously quite distinct from, say, Ajns dorsata, the 

 giant bee of India, or from Apis fiorea, the dwarf bee of the same 

 country. But whether some of the other so-called species are really 



* Since this article was written, Mr. Skaife has accepted the post of Inspector of 

 Technical Education, Cape Province. — Editor. 



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