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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAi-, 



not quite fill the cells full, and the honey 

 does not color the cappin^s. 



Black bees are fearful robbers, and 

 also become discouraged very easily 

 when no honey is being stored. They 

 are also poor soldiers, as they are more 

 easily discouraged, and their sentinels 

 driven from the entrances, and robbers 

 can then walk in and help themselves. 

 Last, but worst of all, they are more 

 subject to moth-worms than other bees. 

 And to close my remarks on native bees, 

 I will advance my idea that they are a 

 genuine wild bee. We have a wild and 

 tame variety of a great many animals 

 that very much resemble each other, 

 and the black bees seem to want to pull 

 right out to the woods as soon as possi- 

 ble after they swarm. Also, when their 

 hives are opened they run as if they 

 were scared almost to death. All these 

 characteristics seem to prove to me that 

 they are a wild variety of bees. The 

 queens are usually prolific, and the bees 

 hardy. 



ITALIAN BEES. 



This race of bees made its appearance 

 in America about 40 years ago, by some 

 of our most enthusiastic bee-fathers, but 

 by whom it is hard to tell. But I would 

 be very glad indeed to know just who it 

 was, so that I could note it down for 

 future generations, but I will leave it 

 blank for the present. 



The Italians are evidently our tame 

 bees, or bees that have been worked and 

 manipulated by the hand of man more 

 or less since the world was created. I 

 am told by some Italian history that 100 

 years ago, or less, there were no black 

 bees in Italy. The truth of this I could 

 not endorse, as the historian might have 

 been mistaken. 



Italian bees are somewhat larger than 

 black bees, and always, almost without 

 an exception, they leave honey in their 

 brood-nests, and seem a little slower to 

 enter the supers, but store very rapidly 

 when once started in the sections. They 

 are not so much disposed to swarm as 

 blacks, and consequently usually a great 

 deal stronger in bees, and of course 

 gather more honey. They seem more 

 gentle, adhering to their combs while 

 being handled, and sometimes hang 

 around the bee-yard or house longer 

 than blacks, and giving every evidence 

 of a tame variety of bees. They are 

 not so readily disposed to rob, protect 

 their hives against robbers and moths, 

 and I might say, against any intruder 

 better than blacks. Having a tame dis- 

 position, they stay at home and fight to 



a finish, when the blacks get scared and 

 run. 



Comb honey stored by Italian bees is 

 not so white as that stored by blacks, 

 inasmuch as they usually fill the cells 

 full, and the caps are placed right on 

 the honey, as a little hole is left in the 

 cappiugs, and they put in honey until 

 it comes clear up to the cappings. Any 

 way, the cappings are against the honey, 

 which gives the comb the color of the 

 liquid honey. But when this is once 

 understood by consumers, they seem to 

 like it all the better, as the rich, golden 

 color looks well. 



The Italians are harder to get off their 

 combs at extracting time, or any other 

 time. Being tame and gentle, they hold 

 fast. The queens are large, and very 

 prolific, and easy to find, as they seldom 

 run down in the hives like blacks. I am 

 satisfied they will go farther for honey, 

 and carry larger loads, are more hand- 

 some tnan blacks, pay better, and, all 

 in all, are a race of bees hard to " take 

 down " when all things are considered. 



GOLDEN OR 5-BANDED BEES. 



This is an Italian bee also. I suppose 

 that almost all old-time bee-keepers, as 

 well as some younger ones, have noticed 

 that the longer the Ilalians are kept 

 pure, and bred in America, they get 

 more yellow. This seems to be the case 

 with people that come here from Africa 

 — they get lighter after being domesti- 

 cated. I began looking after this par- 

 ticular trait in the Italian bees in 1885, 

 and for the last five years I have reared 

 bees almost solid yellow, and no bands 

 at all. These bees have about the same 

 traits as the old Italians, except they 

 are quicker to enter supers, and seem to 

 delight in how much honey they can put 

 into their hives. And swarming is not 

 indulged in quite as much as with com- 

 mon Italians. This characteristic alone 

 proves that they will be likely to store 

 more honey per colony, all things being 

 equal, for some bees are hard to keep 

 together long enough to store a super of 

 honey, and the non-swarming quality in 

 the 5-baiided bees is worthy of notice. 

 But they will swarm, too, occasionally, 

 and by an honest, fair, and impartial 

 test I have found them, as a rule, more 

 cross than common Italian bees. 



But they are easily handled ; and, 

 Great Scott ! what robbers they are ! 

 Whether their being so yellow makes 

 them conspicuous or not, I don't know, 

 but during a scarcity of honey the yel- 

 low " ladies" can be seen all over the 

 apiary, and if the weak colonies do not 



