VARIETIES AND PECULIARITIES OF BEES. 



III. Varieties of the Honey Bee. 



1229 



Our domestic hoc belongs to the Apis MelUfica, and is a native of the 

 Eastern nomisphore, none having ])een known in the westci-n half of the 

 globe, until brought here from beyond the Atlantic ; but once introtiuced, 

 they have taken kindly to our climate, and arc now spread over the 

 whole of North America where the winters are not too severe, since their 

 natural instinct of swarming enables them easily to escape from domestic 

 catio'.i. The varieties of the honey bee best known are the Black, or 

 Gernuin bee, and the Italian, or Ligurian bee, both of which varieties 

 were known as long ago as the time of Aristotle, 400 years before Christ. 

 The so-called Black bees are not really black, bi'.t a gray-black. The 

 specitic distinction between the two varieties al)ove mentioned was tirsi 

 made by Spinola, in 1805, who called one the German, and the other the 

 Ligurian, the name Italian being a synonym, adopted lately for the 

 reason that the tirst well-known importation of them to the United 

 States was from Italy. In 1850, these " Italians " were imported sim- 

 ultaneously into England and the United States from (iermany, and the 

 next ycvir an im[)oi1ation was made direct to the United States from 

 Italy, where they were systematically ke[)t, ; and now they aie generally 

 disseminated throughout the United States and Canada. 



The German Ix'cs are pretty much self-colored. The Italians are 

 easily distinguished by the l)right yellow rings — three in number when 

 the breed is pure — at the ))aseof tlie abdomen. 



The Egvptian bees {fasciafa or banded) ai'c broadly banded with y el- 

 low. They are smaller, more slender and yellower than the Italians, anci 

 are supi)osed to be the bees mentioned in scripture. Vogel states that 

 they gather no propolis ; they are also reported to be active, to stand the 

 cold well, and to be cross and more liable to sting than either the Ger- 

 man or Italian. Italian bees are credited with being the best natureci 

 of any, a matter not difficult to account for under the laws of heredity, 

 since they are the oldest of thoroughly domesticated bees. 



Another variety of bees that has received attention is the Cyprian 

 bee, which is yellow, and undoubtedly a variety of the Italian. A vari- 

 ety of Italians has recently been sold, called Albinos, from their white 

 hairs ; the probability is that all Italian bees have these white-haired 

 individuals naturally among them. The Carnolian, the Heath, the Her- 

 zeo-ovinian, and the Krainer l)ees are also described by fanciers. In 

 these days of sharp practice there are yearly candidates for the farm- 

 er's money on every hand. Our advice is that farmers stick to the Ger- 

 man and Italian ; they are good enough for every day use. 



