282 Dr. A. Gerstacker on the Honey-Bee. 



the window, and two upon the flat floors of small closets." 

 Adanson adds that the honey of these Bees is peculiar, being 

 always fluid, and resembling a brown syrup. 



Olivier* gives, from the MS. notes of Geoffroy de Villeneuve, 

 son of the author of the ' Histoire Naturelle des Insectes de 

 Paris/ the following account of the Bees of Senegambia. In 

 descending from Guisguis, according to that traveller, numerous 

 trees are seen bearing beehives, which are well made with straw, 

 and have only a very small opening. The negroes of this dis- 

 trict collect the honey twice in the year. The first harvest is 

 about the end of May, and is the richest ; the second takes place 

 at the beginning of December. 



The occurrence of the Honey-Bee in the interior of South 

 Africa is proved by Andersson and Livingstone. The former 

 saysf — "Wild Bees very frequently build their nests in the 

 gigantic edifices of the White Ants ; in many years they are 

 very numerous. The temper of these insects seems to be un- 

 usually peaceable and patient ; for I have never observed that 

 the people, when robbing their nests, were stung by them. These 

 nests are usually smoked first of all ; but I have often convinced 

 myself that the naked savages approach them without fear, and 

 remove them without any precautions." Livingstone's account J 

 runs as follows : — " Bee-keeping is practised in Londa ; bee- 

 hives are there found set upon trees in the most solitary woods. 

 We often met waggons with large pieces of wax weighing from 

 80 to 100 pounds, and in every village such were offered to us 

 for sale; but here (namely, on the Zambesi, 16° S. lat.) we 

 never saw even a single beehive ; the Bees were met with every- 

 where in natural cavities in the Mopane- trees. In many parts 

 of the Batoka country, Bees exist in great abundance; and 

 Sekeletu's tribute was often paid in large vessels of honey- I 

 also saw a little wax in Quillimane, which was brought by the 

 natives of this district." 



The latter place is situated in Mozambique, which has already 

 been indicated by the author as inhabited by Bees, from some 

 specimens obtained there by Peters§. At the Cape of Good Hope 

 " our Honey-Bee " was observed by Frauenfeld (Verhandl. der 

 Zool.-bot. Gesellsch. zu Wien, 1860, p. 85) ; and there is no 

 doubt that it is this species which is referred to in the following 

 statement of Lichtenstein's, although he regards the Bee men- 

 tioned by him as belonging to a distinct species. He says — 



* Enc. Meth., Insectes i., art. Abeille, p. 49. 

 f Lake N'Gami, or Explorations and Discoveries, &c, p. 132. 

 X Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa, p. 614. 

 § Peters, Naturwissenschaftliche Reise nach Mossainbique, Zoologie, V., 

 Insecten, p. 439. 



