310 



THE AMERICA!^ BEE JOURNAL. 



door wintering would not do in tliis 

 climate. Ttie time of taking bees out 

 of the cellar was discussed, and the 

 opinion was tliat they should be kept 

 in as long as possible, or until the 

 weather warranted removing them ; 

 also, that in taking them out consid- 

 erable caution should be exercised in 

 order to prevent mixing. 



Mr. Wm. Fuller read an essay on 

 " Italianizing bees." He first gave 

 some points of superiority possessed 

 by the Italian bees as follows : 1. 

 They stick to the combs better, so 

 their work is not interrupted by 

 handling. 2. They are quieter in 

 winter quarters. 3. Tliey will work 

 in rougher weather than other bees. 

 4. They are proof against moths. His 

 method of Italianizhit; is to take a 

 comb with a queen-cell in it, or put 

 one in it, and then put the comb into 

 a hive with other combs, move the 

 hive with bees which you wish to Ital- 

 ianize, some distance iiway, and put 

 the new hive where tlie old one was, 

 and tlie returning bees will go into 

 the new hive and build up a colony of 

 Italians. 



Black bees vs. Italians as honey- 

 producers was debated. A difference 

 of opinion prevailed, and the discus- 

 sion was lively, but the majority 

 were in favor of the Italians. 



An essay was read by Mr. A. C. 

 Sanford, on " Marketing Honey." He 

 said that honey should be put up in as 

 neat and attractive a manner as pos- 

 sible, and in such sized packages as 

 the market demands ; also that sum- 

 mer and fall honey should be graded 

 separately. 



Those present reported 294 colonies, 

 last fall, and ISl this spring. The 

 Association then adjourned until the 

 first Tuesday in September, 188-5. 



B. J. Thompson, tSec. 



Gleanings. 



Apis Dorsata, the Large Bee of Java, 

 Captured at Last. 



A. BUNKEK. 



I have at last captured a swarm of 

 Apis chrsata, and have it safely hived 

 in an observatory hive. There are 

 about halt a bushel of bees, and are 

 they not magnilicent fellows V My 

 hive is about (i feet tall, and 3x3 wide 

 and deep. The bees were secured on 

 a very high tree, on which were 13 

 other colonies. The limb was cut off, 

 and forms the top-bar for the comb, 

 and hangs like a movable frame in 

 the liive. I have had a sheet of ghiss, 

 9xltj inches, put into the back of the 

 hive, and a door made to shut all up, 

 when one does not want to watch 

 them. Tlie brood-comb is about lIxKi 

 inches, and is solid with brood. I see 

 no pollen or honey in the comb. There 

 are young and old bees. The old have 

 the abdimien a bright yellow, with 

 narrow black b;inds, while the young 

 (V) are much darker in color ; but 1 

 cannot speak with much certainty, 

 for I have not studied them long 

 enough yet. They sting, but the 

 sting is not much worse than that of 

 the Apis Indica—at least I judge so ; 

 for in putting them into place, my 



assistant was stung four times, but it 

 was not followed by swelling. The 

 sting is much larger than the common 

 bee, of course ; and as one of my 

 Karens said last night, " It makes a 

 hole at once." Yet, 1 judge that it is 

 bearable. 



Their wings are beautifully irra- 

 diant;and looking at them on their 

 comb by night, with a strong light, 

 they are most beautiful. This morn- 

 ing they are going out of and into 

 their hive, and looking all about their 

 home. Will they stay and go to work 

 or not ? is the question ; we shall see. 



One thing I notice : They are far 

 less excitable than Apis Indica. They 

 move slowly, do not dash about their 

 cage, and struggle for exit like that 

 bee. They impress one, however, 

 with an idea of "reserve power," if 

 they have a mind to use it. I do not 

 think they are quick on their combs 

 to repair damage, but I cannot yet 

 speak with definiteness. I also have 

 a swarm of the " melipona" working 

 well. 



I have been studying the Apis dor- 

 sata, and there seems to be two kinds 

 of this bee in Burmah, each quite dis- 

 tinct, though I have not yet secured 



their former place of abode. This is 

 especially true of the yellow kind, 

 which occupies a chosen tree or trees 

 in a particular locality, year after year, 

 so that the natives buy and sell these 

 trees as valuable property. 



I judge that these bees migrate to 

 some distance to the north, for these 

 reasons : 1. The reason why they 

 migrate at all, seems to be the ex- 

 posed position of their nests, on the 

 under side of the limbs of high trees, 

 exposed to all weather. The high 

 winds and violent showers of the be- 

 ginning of the monsoons would al- 

 ways destroy their nests. I never 

 saw a nest survive the rains ; hence, 

 migrating on account of the rains, 

 they must needs go to a climate 

 where the rains are less violent, or 

 where they can find sheltering cliffs 

 in which to build. 2. When they re- 

 turn they are often found resting 

 near the ground, before selecting the 

 tree on which to build a new home. 

 Sometimes they will rest there a 

 week and then take flight again. At 

 such times they are very cross, and 

 the natives are very careful not to go 

 near them. There are no cliffs or 

 rocks in Burmah in which these bees 



HOW THE COMBS ARE BUILT BY APIS DORS.4T.\. 



specimens for comparison. One kind 

 is yellowish in color, and usually 

 builds nests on the limbs of very high 

 trees, or in rocky cliffs, while the 

 other is nearly black, hairy, and 

 builds in thickets, or limbs of trees, 

 or on creepers, often near the ground. 

 Both are unicomb bees. The former 

 kind is often vicious ; the latter is 

 very gentle, according to all reports, 

 and the natives have no fear of it at 

 all. They often approach the nest of 

 the latter by daylight, and take off 

 pieces of comb, without smoking or 

 protection of any kind whatever, and 

 without often being attacked by the 

 bees. The former kind defends its 

 nest with great vigor ; and if they 

 once set upon an enemy, they follow 

 very persistently for a long distance, 

 and sometimes natives thus pursued 

 must make to a neighboring stream 

 to escape. One ruse for escape is to 

 break off a thickly leaved bush and 

 plunge into the water, and allow the 

 branch to float down with the current, 

 while the fugitive plunges into the 

 water. The bees then follow the 

 brand] down stream, and lose sight 

 of their victim. Yet, the first kind 

 with the yellow markings is not al- 

 ways so vicious, as they can be easily 

 subdued with smoke; and if handled 

 carefully they seem to be as gentle as 

 many kinds of Apis mellifica. Both 

 kinds leave Burmah at the beginning 

 of the rains, and return on Feb. 1, 

 each year. They usually return to 



can build ; if there were, they might 

 remain here the year round, as I un- 

 derstand they do in Ceylon and in 

 Northern India. 



In the Padung-Karen country, 

 about 80 miles northeast from Toun- 

 goo, these bees are in some sense 

 domesticated, as are also the Apis 

 Indica. In order to secure the ser- 

 vices of the Apis dorsata, the Padungs 

 dig a trench in a side hill, and drive a 

 stout stake, inclined about 4.5'^ toward 

 the down slope of the hill, into the 

 ground, and lean branches of trees 

 against the stake on either side, 

 making a shield from the wind. The 

 Apis dorsata returns to these places 

 year after year, and the natives se- 

 cure bountiful harvests of wax and 

 honey, always leaving some for their 

 yellow workers. May it not be that 

 the Apis dorsata builds one comb, 

 only because it does not usually find 

 a place to build double combs V The 

 comb is so large that it must indeed 

 be a large limb of a tree to give room 

 for double combs. 



From all inquiries which I have 

 made, I am strongly inclined to be- 

 lieve that the Apis dorsata can' be 

 domesticated, especially the black- 

 colored species. Yet, to insure suc- 

 cess, doubtless much study must be 

 given to ilie habits of this bee, and 

 all the conditions of domestication be 

 approached as near as possible to 

 their wild state. The fact, as I am 

 informed, that, in regions of less rain. 



