1893 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



55 



fuzz. In qualities they are similar to Carnio- 

 lans, though not quite so gentle as the latter. 



THE ATTIC, OR BEES OF HYMETTtJS, 



were found in the plains of Attica— probably 

 the same race of bees that gathered honey for 

 the gods. They no doubt now gathered the 

 same honey, of the same quality that they were 

 reputed to have done in ancient times: but as 

 the native bee-keepers put the honey in goat- 

 skins. Mr. Benton did not think he would 

 like to be one of the " gods." The Hymettus 

 bees look very much like ("arniolans. and their 

 movements are the same: but they are very 

 cross, notwithsanding they are good honey- 

 gatherers. They used more propolis, and were 

 great breeders. Mr. Benton here related an in- 

 cident of a case where he had the Attic, or bees 

 of Hymettus, in an apiary alongside of Carnio- 

 lans. He had been handling Carniolans, and by 

 mistake opened a hive of the Hymettus bees. 

 The result was, that they poured out in such 

 numbers that he was driven precipitately from 

 the apiary. These and many other bad quali- 

 ties would make them rather undesirable for 

 Importation to this country. 



CYPRIAN BEES 



were raised on the island of Cyprus, and weic 

 peculiar on account of their isolation. They 

 were kept in mud-cylinder hives ; movements 

 were very quick — so quick, indeed, that they 

 might flit on the nose. As to their honey-gath- 

 ering qualities, they exceed all other known 

 races; will often gather honey when others are 

 doing nothing. The cappings of their comb 

 honey have a rather water- soaked appearance, 

 and therefore were not suited for comb honey. 

 They were prolific — more so than the Carnio- 

 lans. Right at this point Mr. Benton wished to 

 emphasize the fact that it was not a bad thing 

 to have bees extra prolific, because an intelli- 

 gent bee-keeper — one who knows how — could 

 turn it to good account. As to the temper of 

 Cyprians, they feared nothing. Much smoke 

 would not subdue them: in fact, the more they 

 were smoked, the worse they became. They 

 were very sensitive toliglit; and hence on open- 

 ing a hive it must be done gradually. By 

 working cautiously, of course using a veil, 

 and a slight amount of smoke, he could get 

 along witli them very well. They winter bet- 

 ter than Syrians and Palestines. For extracted 

 honey, he believed they were the best bees in 

 the world. If honey were to be extracted it 

 would make no difference whether the cappings 

 were water-soaked or otherwise. As the swarm- 

 ing mania has been bred into the Carniolans, so 

 vindictiveness has been bred into the Cyprians 

 on account of their natural environments. 

 Wasps were their natural enemies on the island 

 of Cyprus, and Mr. Benton had known them to 

 pounce upon the weakest of the colonies, and 

 so decimate their number as to finally cause 

 their utter annihilation. Mr. Benton regretted 

 that the Cyprians were not now to be had in 

 this country, and thought they had been dis- 

 carded prematurely. He believed that they 

 should be kept in their purity, as their crosses 

 were undesirable. 



TUNISIANS, OR, AS SOME HAVE CALLED THEM, 

 FUNICS. 



These, Mr. Benton said, were found from 

 Tripoli, Africa, westward. He had reason for 

 thinking they were the same bees that were to 

 be found on the island of Minorca. They had 

 been originally imported to France and all that 

 region: and on the island of Minorca they had 

 been isolated. The Tunisians resembled most 

 our black bees. They were much darker, how- 

 ever, and smaller, than the Italians. They fly 

 quick, are excellent honey-gatherers, active. 



good comb-builders, and cap their honey fairly 

 well: but they were the worst gatherers of 

 propolis of any bees known, and would some- 

 times close up their entrances to narrow pass- 

 ageways with propolis. leaTving little pillars 

 between the holes. Indeed, the amount of 

 propolis they will gather is so much that they 

 are unsuited for comb honey, because they daub 

 the cappings with it so much.* They were vin- 

 dictive, and probably for the same reason that 

 Cyprians are so: namely, on account of their 

 inveterate enemies the wasps. The Tunisians, 

 when aroused, are ten times worse than Cypri- 

 ans — far worse than the Orientals, and Mr. 

 Benton thought the introduction of them into 

 this country was detrimental to the best inter- 

 ests of bee-keeping. As Mr. Benton has thor- 

 oughly and carefully studied their habits in 

 their native clime, and sent some of the queens 

 to friends in Europe, these statements may be 

 taken with some degree of authority. 



APISCFLOREA.l 



These bees build in the open air, their comb 

 being attached to the limbs of trees. There can 

 be nothing expected from them, as they are 

 quite disposed to migrate. 



APIS INDICA. 



These were very small and pretty five-banded 

 bees; and as they could be kept in hives, he 

 thought they might be worthy of a trial. They 

 were so small they might be well adapted to 

 the small flora of our country, without detri- 

 ment to our other bees, since they would gather 

 honey from some blossoms which the ordinary- 

 sized bees might net. 



3 APIS DORS AT A. 



This was a very large bee; lower part of the 

 body smoky; wings blue-black, and shone in 

 the sunlight; workers were about the size of 

 our queen -bees. Their movements were very 

 different from that of the ordinary bees, and, 

 if disturbed, would whizz from the combs like 

 hornets. They were excellent gatherers of 

 honey, and of good quality, and their wax was 

 produced in such quantities as to make an im- 

 portant article of merchandise. The combs, 

 usually only one, were about 5 feet long, and 

 hang from the limbs of trees. If they have 

 more than one comb it is attached to the cen- 

 tral or main comb, one on either side, and not 

 as commonly illustrated in one of the bee- 

 journals, showing several combs attached to 

 one limb. The worker-cells of the Apis dorsata 

 were about the size of the drone-cells of our 

 bees, and the di'ones of Apis dorsata were 

 raised in the same cells as the workers. They 

 looked like drones, having a blunt appearance, 

 but differ after all from our drones. The 

 vindictive propensity of the bees had been much 

 exaggerated. They were not particularly cross, 

 and could be handled and kept in hives. Mr. 

 Benton secured some of the bees and found 

 they could be successfully kept in hives. Cir- 

 cumstances were such that he could not make 

 the observation of their general characteristics 

 that he desired, but he found that they were 

 slo'v to repair combs that were broken. So 

 awkward were they in stinging, that, by a quick 

 brushing movement, the sting could easily be 

 averted; and. even when they were successful in 

 accomplishing their object, the wound was not 

 as painful as from other bees. 



Some little discussion followed Mr. Benton's 

 paper. The fact was brought out, that, in Cali- 

 fornia, the crosses of the Cypria"ns with black 

 bees were so terribly cross that those having 



* Tills, our readers will remember. Is exactly our 

 experience. The liltle comb honey we received 

 from them was almost red witli pi'opolis. 



