174 



THE AMEBIC AK APICULTURIST. 



CoiTcspouLrmcc. 



Purity of Italian Bees. 

 Geo. F. Robbins. 



Ever since reading the last Api, I 

 have been wanting to reply to your 

 statement of opinion as to the mark- 

 ings of Italians. 1 do not know 

 whether j^our yellow Carniolans are 

 Caruiolans or not. 80 far as they 

 alone are concerned, 1 only know what 

 Frank Benton, Dr. Morrison and 

 others say, that Carniolans should 

 show no yellow. I can not prove 

 that you are mistaken so far as they 

 are concerned ; but, in the light of 

 what you say about Italian bees, 1 

 am inclined to agree with the above 

 authorities. I certainly do not be- 

 lieve that Italians will degenerate 

 into blacks. Do you mean to say 

 that if left to themselves, Italians 

 would go back to blacks in disposi- 

 tion and habits as well as in color? 

 You know there is a marked differ- 

 ence in the nature of the two breeds. 

 Then why could not blacks by selec- 

 tion be bred up into Italians or a bee 

 with all the characteristics of Italians ? 

 ]f you mean in markings alone such a 

 change would take place, then I 

 would say that my experience goes 

 to sliow that one of the strong traits 

 of Italian blood is to propagate and 

 perpetuate its own color, 1 have 

 known the time when, judging by 

 traits and pedigree so far as 1 could 

 know them, I had but one or two 

 colonies of pure Italians. Nearly all 

 my bees would show what is, I be- 

 lieve, universally regarded as the dis- 

 tinctive markings of Italian bees, i. e., 

 three golden yellow bands. I never 

 saw a hybrid stock that I was sure 

 was a hybrid, i. e., half black and 

 half Italian, that did not show plainly 

 and uniformly those three yellow 

 bands, while the progeny of a queen 

 reared from one of these stocks and 

 mated with a black drone will show 

 every shade from an Italian yellow to 

 a pure black with the yellow prepon- 



derant. I know it is generally taught 

 that the three gold bands are invari- 

 able markings of Italians. But I be- 

 lieve it is also agreed among bee ex- 

 perts that the inalienable traits of 

 Italians are gentleness, a disposition 

 to adhere to the combs, and a gener- 

 al quiet demeanor, while hybrids are 

 reputed among the most cold-blooded 

 and persistent stingers in the world. 

 Blacks, on the other hand, will run, 

 hang in festoons to the combs, drop 

 off, and scamper around generally. 

 By those traits, largely, but not al- 

 together, do I judge of the stock of 

 my bees. I say not altogether for it 

 was a chapter or two from my expe- 

 rience that first led me to my conclu- 

 sions as given above. A year after I 

 commenced beekeeping, with all black 

 bees, I bought two colonies of Ital- 

 ians. From one of these I proceeded to 

 rear drones and from the other queens. 

 The progeny of every one of these 

 queens, with one possible exception, 

 showed uniformly those three gold 

 bands. In my verdancy I supposed 

 when the progeny of the first ones ap- 

 peared that those queens were purely 

 mated, but when they all looked alike, 

 with seventeen colonies of black bees 

 and two of Italian in my own yard 

 and not another Italian in the coun- 

 try, so far as I have ever known, how 

 could it be? And how they did love 

 to gouge me ! My ! It makes me shiver 

 yet to think of it. I could give fur- 

 ther experieuce in the same line, but 

 I have given enough I think. I am 

 convinced that, so far li'om Italians 

 losing their distinctive colorings un- 

 less careful selection is practised, 

 Italians will transmit their colors more 

 or less down through the generations 

 of mixture with black blood. 



I am nearly convinced of another 

 thing which I cannot prove so satis- 

 factorily to myself. 1 believe queens 

 are usually fertilized some tlistance 

 from the hive, or else drones from a 

 distance meet them nearer home. In 

 fact, drones and queens alike are dis- 

 posed to seek mates at a distance from 



