BEES. 



64 



BEES. 



comes more manifest as cold weatlier comes 

 on. In this one respect they differ material- 

 ly iiom Carniolans. 



About the most serious objection that can 

 be urged against them (and the same may 

 be said of Carniolans) is very strong resem- 

 blance to the common blacks. It will be 

 simply impossible to detect tlieir crosses; 

 and unscrupulous dealers might send out 

 such crosses, or even black bees, and palm 

 them oft' as Caucasians. But the deception 

 coulil not continue long, as Carniolans be- 

 have very differently on the combs. There 

 is also a strain of yellow Caucasians ; but 

 t hesejwe have never tested, and therefore are 

 unable to give any opinion as to their merits. 



15ANAT BEES. 



The black strain of these bees looks very 

 much like tlie black Caucasians ; and their 

 general characteristics, so far as we have 



ed Apis fosiata by entomologists; has been 

 cultivated for thousands of years by the 

 P^gyptians, and was probably the tirst species 

 reduced by mankind to domestic purposes. 



In the time of the ancient historian Her- 

 odotus, apiaries were transported uj) and 

 down the Nile so as to keep pace with the 

 seasons in Upper and Lower Egypt. This 

 practice is continued at the present day to a 

 limited extent. Inscriptions on tombs show 

 the practice in use 4000 years ago, at least, 

 and the honey-bee highly reverenced by the 

 people of that age. 



The Egyptian bee is so much smaller than 

 the Italian that the two do not hybridize 

 very well ; on the contrary, the queen, if 

 compelled to mate with a European drone, 

 frequently dies soon after fertilization. It 

 is probably, however, the mother-species of 

 the Cyprian, Holy-Land, and Grecian bees. 



WORKER. 



QUEEN. 



DRONE. 



been able to observe, are about the same 

 also. A yellow variety of the same bees is 

 also reported. 



TUNISIANS. 



This black race, natives of North Africa, 

 are sometimes called "■ Funics." They have 

 been tested to some extent in this country, 

 but so far have not been able to establish any 

 claim in their favor that would entitle them 

 to consideration on the part of American 

 bee-keepers. They are cross, and so inclined 

 to smear everything with a red bee glue that 

 they are entirely unsuited for the produc- 

 tion of comlj honey. They are no better 

 lioney-gatherers than gentler races; and the 

 fact that they do not excel in any way, and 

 are so far surpassed by other bees in desira- 

 ble qualities, should bar them from intro- 

 duction into this country. 



KGYTTIANS. 



The Egyptian bee is reputed the most 

 beautiful species of Apis. It has been nam- 



It is a fast, excellent worker, but reputed to 

 possess an irritable temper though kept 

 domesticated for thousands of years. Possi- 

 bly in a climate similar to that of Egypt it 

 would exhibit a better temper than in North- 

 ern Europe. It could hardly be otherwise. 

 In color Egyptians are almost identical w it h 

 Italians, but in addition have a coat of white 

 hairs, which adds to their appearance. 

 There are varieties, or races, of the same 

 species in countries next to Lower Egypt. 

 One feature of these bees would please 

 Americans, namely, their ability to keep 

 themselves pure and uncontaminated with 

 other races. There is a similar species in 

 Senegal known as Apis Adansonii, of which 

 w^e know but little. 



ALBINOS. 



Albinos are either " sports " from Ital- 

 ians, or, what is more generally the case, a 

 cross between Holy-Lands and Italians. 

 After testing them in our own apiary we 



