J^oxvtlxeni ^otcs* 



Improvement of the Italian Bee. 



The Question has been asked : " Has the 

 Italian lioney-bee any fixed cliaraeteristic 

 mark, by which their purity can be ascer- 

 tained ?■" 



A German writer of considerable distinc- 

 tion, Mr. Gravenhorst, says " Italians are 

 pure when they bear distinctly and tixedly 

 the marks which distinguish those bees in 

 Italy and Italian Switzerland, in which they 

 have been found existing for centuries past, 

 unaided by special arts of cultivation, and 

 as they exist there at the present day." 



To this class of districts belongs upper 

 Italy and Bellinzona, in the canton of 

 Tessin and Roveredo, in the canton of 

 Orisons, in Switzerland, the marks which 

 we find distinguishing the Italian bees 

 there. They invariably show three yellow 

 bands, distinctly impressed. The color of 

 these bands, (of which 2 are broad and 1 is 

 narrow,) varies somewhat, according to the 

 locality. In upper Italy, the color of the 

 bands is somewhat light, while in Tessin 

 and the Grisons it approaches more that of 

 the chestnut, in color. Some are yellow to 

 the extreme tips of the abdomen, while 

 others have bands less yellow or brownish, 

 and from the third abdominal segment their 

 color passes gradually into a darker shade. 



Many of these queens produce princesses 

 all uniforniily alike, of yellow or brownish 

 color, whereas the daughters of others are 

 more or less dark, not resembling their 

 mother; but all the queens derived from 

 the districts named, without exception, 

 produce workers having yellow or brownish 

 (orange-colored) bands. 



Such is the archetype of the Italian bee.— 

 All deviations therefrom are no longer 

 pure, whether passing in one direction or 

 another. Our friend, and others, have 

 admitted that it was formerly customary to 

 maintain in Germany that there was in this 

 bee, even as obtained from Italy and Ital- 

 ian Switzerland, a slight dash of black 

 blood. But our friend does not concede 

 this to be so now, but that in Italy and 

 Italian Switzerland an archetypical race has 

 been gradually formed ; and, by careful 

 selection of queens for breeding, Italian 

 queens have been produced, whicli, as 

 regards their color and that of their prog- 

 eny, are considerably lighter and hand- 

 somer than the original stock. 



But he is also of the opinion that these 

 brighter and handsomer bees are the pro- 

 duct of artificial, or rather scientific breed- 

 ing ; and of the peculiar circumstances amid 

 which they came into existence, he says : — 

 " It is stated, that the young queens, now 

 bred in America, from imported stock, are 

 brighter-colored than their mothers, but can 

 by no means admit that these bees are 

 genuine Italians, because they lack the 

 genuine characteristic marks of real Ital- 

 ians. They are, if we so please to call them, 

 impi-oved Italians ; or, they may be more 

 accurately named American Italians." 



Dzierzon says, that by careful selection of 



queens for breeding stock, he secured a 

 variety in his apiaries, which are prettier 

 or brighter than those procured from Italy 

 or Italian Switzerland. But that Uzierzon's 

 Italians, exclusively, or those brighter 

 American Italians, alone are to be regarded 

 as genuine, is certainly not the fact. He 

 further says that the bright Italian has less 

 economic value, &c. 



It is an altogether different matter, when, 

 from a large number of colonies, a selection 

 is made from among the oest marked bees 

 and queens, and the best, in all respects, 

 are taken to breed from. In this he admits 

 that no one has been more eminently 

 successful than Dzierzon. His long experi- 

 ence, and peculiar genius as an apiarist, 

 had enabled him to produce in his apiary 

 the most beautiful workers, combining at 

 the same time all the other desirable quali- 

 ties^ and very distinguished specimens of 

 these so called "Italian queens." 



BRIGHT ITALIANS VS. DAKK. 



Although our friend admits that the pecu- 

 liar genius of Dzierzon, as an apiarist, 

 has enabled him to combine all the desira- 

 ble qualities of these so called " Italian 

 queens," yet, he cannot concede that they 

 are genuine Italians. 



Is it possible that our noted bee-keeper, 

 Dzierzon, never purchased any queens 

 from the districts above named, and he 

 the most noted bee-keeper in the old 

 country ? It is possible that Dzierzon's 

 light colored Italian bees, and those bred in 

 America, even, from imported mothers, and 

 from the districts as above named by our 

 friend, and as nothing coming therefrom 

 but the "Simon pure," yet, he cannot 

 concede them to be pure, or genuine Italian 

 bees, and calls them "Improved," or 

 " American Italians," from the fact that 

 they are lighter and more beautiful in 

 color, although they bear the 3 distinct 

 and uniform bands that the darker colored 

 ones do ; yet, they must be called improved 

 or American Italians! 



Now, Mr. Editor, if you or our friend can 

 inform us which horn of the "dilemma" to 

 take, we would be glad. It is not the first 

 time that this matter has been jumbled up. 

 To what conclusion can the novice in api- 

 culture come by reading the description 

 given of the pure Italian bee ? First, he 

 says, they invariably show 3 yellow bands, 

 (correct.) the color of these bands varies 

 according to locality. Would not the same 

 rule hold good when shipped to this coun- 

 try ? Our friend, perhaps, don't know, and 

 consequently calls them American Italians, 

 and not genuine. 



Again, in upper Italy, the color of the 

 bands is some lighter, while in Tessin and 

 the Grisons it aijproaches more that of the 

 chestnut; and as it regards coloring, some 

 are yellow to the extreme tip of the abdo- 

 men, while others have bands, legs lellow 

 or brownish, and passes gradually into a 

 darker shade. He further admits that many 

 of these queens produce princesses, all 

 uniformily alike, of yellow or brownish 

 color ; whereas, the daughters of others are 

 more or less blackish or dark, not resem- 

 bling their mothers. But all the queens 

 from the district named will produce, with- 



