382, 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Topics of Interest. 



Apis Dorsata from Ceylon. 



W. p. FAYLOR. 



I have just been reading an account a 

 certain traveler gives of this famous bee 

 in Ceylon ; and the great wonder to me 

 is why we cannot get this race of bees 

 introduced into this country. They are 

 described as having glossy, blue-black 

 wings ; their bodies are striped with 

 yellow and the glossy blue-black ; but 

 the golden color largely predominates. 

 This, for beauty, would certainly exceed 



ever, that the Government is willing, 

 but the main difficulty seems to be to 

 find the bee-men who has the courage to 

 go in pursuit of these bees. As there 

 are many settlements now of the English 

 on the island of Ceylon, the safety of 

 visiting that country can be assured. 



Now, since queen-bees have been 

 safely sent to Australia from America, it 

 is very probable that queen-bees might 

 be sent from Ceylon to America. The 

 question first to be agitated is, Who will 

 go to Ceylon, start an apiary, and ship 

 queens to this country ? 



It is to be remembered that queens of 



the above-named race mate with their 



drones late in the evening ; hence, if 



once introduced, fchey can forever be 



^kept a distinct, pure race without inter- 



COMBS AS BUILT BY APIS DOESATA. 



anything we now have under domestica- 

 tion in America. 



This bee is further represented as 

 being about one-fourth to one-third 

 larger than the Italian or German va- 

 rieties. They build their combs as much 

 as 6 feet in length, and frequently widen' 

 them out to 4 and 5 feet. Their cells 

 are said to be about as large as the 

 drone-cells of the common species, and 

 these cells at the tops of the combs are 

 frequently built 3 to 4 inches deep to 

 hold the great amount of honey they 

 gather. 



Mr. Frank Benton, who captured 4 

 colonics of these bees, tells us that they 

 build only one size of cells for workers 

 and drones. Surely, if as represented 

 by Messrs. D. A. Jones, Benton, King- 

 ston and others, these bees would have 

 fine play on the red clover of this coun- 

 try. Not only would they gather honey 

 in abundance from this plant, but they 

 would aid in the fertilization of poor 

 soil. 



When I read, a year or so ago, that 

 the United States Government was to 

 appropriate $5,000 for the quest of new 

 varieties or races of bees, I had hoped 

 that " Apis dorsata," ere this time, 

 would be in our possession. In this I 

 have been disai)])ointed. I believe, how- 



mixing with other races, as all of our 

 present stock will do. Shall we let this 

 matter drop, or shall we keep it before 

 the public ? 

 Mt. Auburn, Iowa. 



Rules for Mm Bees at Fairs. 



W. Z. HUTCHINSON. 



Taken as a whole, the code of rules 

 for judging bees and honey at Fairs, as 

 given by Geo. F. Robbins, is a good one. 



The rules for judging bees are not ex- 

 actly what I would advise. I would 

 limit the nuclei to only one comb each. 

 One comb will show as much — yes, more, 

 than a greater number. With one comb, 

 the queen may always be found. This 

 is often the chief attraction to many. 

 Most people have seen bees, but very few 

 have seen a queen. I would not favor a 

 large quantity of bees, because they 

 worry more, and seem to wear them- 

 selves out sooner than a moderate clus- 

 ter. Another thing, a largo body of 

 bees makes it more difficult to find the 

 queen. Neither do I see any advantage 

 in a large quantity of brood. It cannot 

 be kept in " all stages," as our friend 

 suggests. Bees in confinement usually 



