68 Transactio7is of the [Sess. 



We will now consider the varions species of Bees, botli indigen- 

 ous and introduced. As a honey-gathering Bee for any useful pur- 

 pose, we have really only one native species, tlie common black 

 Bee, Apis melUfica. We have certainly many species of beautiful 

 Humble Bees, such as Bomhus muscorum, Bomhus lapidarius, and 

 Bombus terrestris, and others ; but these only gather enough honey 

 to feed their brood, and only a few of the females survive the win- 

 ter, and emerge in the spring, to become the founders of nests, and 

 in this respect their habits are very similar to those of Wasps. 



Regarding Honey-Bees which have been introduced into this 

 country in recent years we have now several species, — the Ligu- 

 rian or Italian, or, as it is sometimes designated, the Alp Bee, the 

 Egyptian Bee, the Cypriote Bee, and the Carniolan Bee. All these 

 are so nearly allied to our own species that they will cross and pro- 

 duce hybrids, and these hybrids are fertile, so that cross-bred Bees 

 are now by no means uncommon wherever Bees are kept. I have 

 a strong opinion that neither the Egyptian nor the Cypriote Bee 

 will eventually be favourites with Bee-keepers. They much resemble 

 each other, being of a very light colour, and smaller than our Bees, 

 very active, and, I believe, prolific breeders ; but the disposition of 

 both is far from amiable. My friend Mr Lowe had some years ago 

 a hive of Egyptians near the Dean Bridge, but if you even walked 

 in front of the hive there was some danger of being stung ; and 

 when I was at Fairlawn in 1881, Mr Abbott Idudly opened a frame 

 hive of Cypriote Bees to show me the queen and drones of the 

 species, and though I had a Bee-veil on, I found I had to keep my 

 hands very firmly in my pockets to keep free from stings. I look, 

 however, on Ligurians, as evidently Virgil did, as an improvement 

 on our own, and in these respects, — that they are prettier insects, 

 having the anterior rings of the abdomen of a pale brown colour ; 

 they are more active, and unquestionably more prolific, and as 

 honey-gatherers quite equal if not si;perior to our own Bees. It 

 may probably be found that hybrids between our own and Liguri- 

 ans are the best of all. With regard to the prolific nature of these 

 hybrids, I will mention a fact which came under my notice this year. 

 In May I had one straw hive of black Bees ; a neighbour had a 

 similar hive of hybrids, — both, I think, equally strong in numbers. 

 My hive threw off one swarm only on the 15th June ; my neighbour's, 

 on the other hand, threw off one swarm on the 30th May, a second 

 on the 10th June, and a third on the 16th of the same month : 

 moreover, the first swarm of the 30th May sent off other three 

 swarms, so that in July, while of black Bees there were only two 

 stocks, of hybrids there were seven. 



To me one of the most interesting sights connected with Bee- 

 keeping is the process of swarming — that is, the queen leading out 

 a swarm to form a new colony ; and this always takes place when 



