196 Beekeeping 



Cyprian. 



This bee has been given a thorough test by American 

 beekeepers. It is somewhat smaller than the Italian and 

 the abdomen is pointed, with three yellow bands, similar 

 to that of Italians but somewhat lighter in color. The 

 queens are small and very prolific. These bees winter well 

 unless the colony wears itself out by breeding in winter. 

 The workers are exceptionally cross, are not subdued by 

 smoke and do not run on the combs. They build many 

 queen cells (less than Syrians). Sent (unsuccessfully) to 

 America by Gravenhorst in 1877 and first imported by 

 Stahala in 1879 : additional shipments by Jones and Benton 

 in 1880. They have been widely advertised and tested but 

 were abandoned because of their unmanageable qualities. 



Grecian. 



These bees resemble a hybrid between Italians and Ger- 

 mans. So far as known they have not been shipped to 

 America. They were sent to Germany in 1860 by v. Roser. 



Caucasian. 



These bees vary in color from three bands of yellow on 

 the abdomen to black or gray according to the region from 

 which they come. The ones introduced into America have 

 shown virtually no yellow color, having come from the more 

 northern parts of the Caucasus. The yellow examples are 

 said to resemble Italians markedly. This is the most 

 gentle race known, although they defend their hives well 

 against robbers. They seldom enter the wrong hive, win- 

 ter well, cap their honey cells white and are, in the main, 

 desirable bees. The hybrids are not gentle. They were 

 first taken from their native country by Butlerov in 1877 

 and were shipped to Germany in 1879 to Vogel, who de- 

 scribed them carefully. The first exportations were chiefly 

 the yellow strains. In 1880 Julius Hoffman, Ft. Plains, 

 New York, received two colonies of these bees but condemned 



