88 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Germany stood in Egypt until its removal under 

 the large tree in tlie English churchyard at 

 Cairo. The hive of the imported slock was a 

 cylinder, only about one-third of the size of the 

 usual hives, made so small purposely for trans- 

 portation. February is the swarming season in 

 Upper, and March in Lower Egypt. The im- 

 ported stock is a small second swarm, which 

 issued in the latter end of March. An artificial 

 increase of stock is not known. Bee-caps are 

 unknown. The Egyptian bee-keepers always 

 approach their bees with their faces unprotected, 

 hive the swarms, and deprive the bees of honey 

 according as they have gathered. The Egyp- 

 tian clover, Trifolium alexandrinum, is the 

 favorite plant of the bee. 



" Of animals hostile to bees which exist in 

 Egypt," continues Herr Vogcl, "only hornets 

 and wasps are known to me. At a certain time 

 in summer a boy must always be stationed near 

 the bee-hives, in order to drive away the 

 hornets, or else these animals would rob all the 

 honey from the stocks. He who knows how 

 rich Egypt is in troublesome insects may form 

 an idea what a pest the hornets especially are 

 for the bees and their keepers during the hot 

 season in Egypt. If robbing a stock by wasps 

 has once commenced, it is difficult to afford 

 help. It is, therefore, the chief task of the 

 watchman to ward off the first attacks of these 

 enemies. 



"As but a few Fellahs and Copts keep bees, 

 it requires a good deal of time to find out an 

 apiary. A European who does not know the 

 Arabian language can discover an apiary mostly 

 only by chance. Moreover, the Fellahs are so 

 intolerant as often to throw great difficulties in 

 the way of discoveries of this kind in Egypt, 

 which difllculties cannot often be overcome, 

 and travellers are frequently attacked by rob- 

 bers. In Mauzur a Copt keeps bees, who is 

 said to be the Egyptian master of bee-keeping. 

 Herr Hammerschmidt, a photographer, Avent to 

 this man in 1863 to buy a stock for the Berlin 

 Acclimatization Society ; the gloomy, distrust- 

 ful, and very superstitious Egyptian did not, 

 however, give a decided answer. Not even a 

 dead bee, which was to be sent to Berlin as a 

 sample, could Mr. Hammerschmidt obtain from 

 him. For 15 to 20 this. (£2 o«. to £o) only was 

 he willing to part Avith a dead bee. Herr Ham- 

 merschmidt fortunately succeeded, in 1864, in 

 finding out a small apiary in Old Cairo. The 

 proprietor, a Fellah, who liad been brought up 

 in a European family, gave a bee as a sample, 

 and parted Avith a small swaxm for a consider- 

 able sum of money. He also made the hive for 

 transportation, and had the box for packiug it 

 in made by his son, who was a joiner. This 

 Fellah was only induced to sell the swarm by 

 Mr. Hammerschmidt, who is a perfect master 

 of the Arabian language, remarking to him that 

 his name would not only be mentioned in 

 Europe, but become immortal. This alone had 

 the desired effect. Tlie Fellah Avould not hive 

 the swarm in a wooden hive, being of opinion 

 the bees were not accustomed to v/ooden hives, 

 and would die in it. He, however, is notquiie 

 an unpractical bee-keeper. In <n-der to compel 

 tiie bee.) tu make combs jjarallel lothe diamcLer 



of the cylinder, he puts old combs on a small 

 forked stick, Avhich is exactly as long as the 

 cylinder is high inside, and fixes them in the 

 hive Avhich is to be stocked. The bees fasten 

 the inserted combs to the surface at the top of 

 the cylinder and to the twig, and after they have 

 been loosened at the top the Fellah can take 

 them out with the stick, and also insert them 

 again. The Fellahs have also partially mova- 

 ble combs. The new combs which the bees 

 make in the cylinder they make parallel to the 

 inserted ones, and the excision of honeycombs 

 is thereby much facilitated. 



" The Egyptian bee, which is distinguished 

 from all otlier known varieties by its small size 

 and light pubescqnc6, is spread over the whole 

 of Egypt. As the vallej^ of the Nile is rather 

 isolated in apiarian respects, this species cannot 

 intermingle with other varieties, and therefore 

 maintains its purity intact. This has been 

 proved by single bees collected from different 

 parts of the country. Arabia, in nature African, 

 has likewise the Egyptian form of honey bee, 

 which is proved by the specimen in the Berlin 

 entomological collection, which was brought by 

 Ehrenberg from Arabia Felix. The Syrian bee 

 differs only from the Egyptian in being some- 

 what larger, and having a hairy yellow corselet; 

 it is, in other respects, so much like the Egyp- 

 tian variety that it may be considered as 

 belonging to it. Even at the present day the 

 Syrian form of the Egyptian bee exists in 

 Palestine in hollow trees and clefts of rock, and 

 it was from this bee that honey was obtained 

 by Samson. Besides the Northern and Italian 

 hybridous bees, and the so-called Grecian or 

 Hymettus bee, bees are frequently found in 

 Asia Minor, which by their light-colored corse- 

 let-plate and small size again approach the 

 Egyptian bee. The Egyptian form of the sjiecies 

 with dark hairy crown of the head, goes through 

 the Himalayas as far as China, and Avas tailed 

 by Fabricius Apis cerana.* 



"As the subtropical zone is the home of the 

 Egyptian bee, it Avas feared that this variety, 

 Avhich exists only in hot countries, would soon 

 perish in tlie climate of Germany. A friend of 

 mine informed me in 1864, that he had heard 

 of the Egyptian bee having been introduced 

 into England years ago, and that it had died 

 there on account of the climate, f I can readily 

 believe that the acclimatization of the Egyptian 

 bee has been attempted in England, and that it 

 soon became extinct there ; hut, judging from 

 the nature of the Northern and Italian bee, I do 

 not believe that it perished on account of the 

 climate. Any effect of the Egyptian climate 

 upon a being reared in Germany could only be 



* The name " Eifyptian bee" is, strictly speaking, incor- 

 rect, because this bee is also met witli in Arabia ; but tlio 

 species being thus styled in works on natural history, 

 having been domesticated aud cultivated in Egypt from the 

 earliest times, and finally introduced into Uormany from 

 tliat country, we do not seek to change it Tlie un- 

 Uerman name, Apis fasciata, (fascio, avi, atum, are, to 

 wind or bind bauds around,) was given to it by the French 

 naturalist Latrcillc (1S3S,) because he considered it a 

 species of that genius. The Latin name no doubt signifies 

 that this bee appears to be adorucd with reddish-yellow aud 

 white bauds. 



-j-This appears to bo a mistake, as I believe no such 

 attempt as that referred to was ever made.— .\ Devonshire 



liliC-KEEl'F.U. 



