836 



glea^i:ngs m bee clltl ijk 



Nov 



quite all who prefer the black bee and its crosses 

 are producers of only comb honey, or, at least, ad- 

 vocate the securing: of most of the crop in that 

 shape. That the Italians are superior for extracted 

 lioney, is, 1 think, unquestioned. The apiarist, 

 then, who expects to produce principally extracted 

 honey, need interest himself no further as to the 

 comparative merits of the two races, as it is con- 

 ceded that the Italians are better for him. 



Two points of superiority are broadly claimed for 

 the black bee. First, that it will more readily en- 

 ter the surplus receptacles, especially if not close 

 to the l)rood. Probably there is some truth in this, 

 or it would not be so strong-ly insisted on; but I 

 have never observed any difference worth men- 

 tioning-; and with proper management I know 

 there is practically none whatever. 



Second, it is claimed that the blacks produce 

 tvhiter comb, which will be more desirable, and in 

 these times of close competition will sell better 

 than that made by Italians. Without stopping- to 

 argue whether good taste would prefer a marble 

 white to a white just tinted with cream, I will say 

 that, in my humble opinion, to claim that any hon- 

 ey ever produced by black bees would present a 

 more salable appearance than some I have been 

 taking- off within the past few days, made by yellow 

 Italians, is to make a hypercritical distinction which 

 is entirely imperceptible to the general buyer. Of 

 course, there is a difference in this respect. I have 

 had Italians, all of whose honey had to be graded as 

 No. 3, at 3 cents per pound less than that of colonies 

 alongside, just because of its dark and watery ap- 

 pearance, due simply to the way it was capped. 

 Such queens are promptly superseded. Whiteness 

 of comb stands high in the list of qualities for 

 which 1 am breeJing, and its realization is much 

 more desirable than yellowness of bees, though I 

 am working for that too. 



The two points referred to are the only ones in 

 which the blacks may be fairly claimed to be supe- 

 rior to the Italians under ordinary management. 

 When we consider their positive defects, the Ital- 

 ians easily bear oft' the palm under such manage- 

 ment. With certain systems of management, 

 though, these very defects of the blacks are so util- 

 ized that they become aids to manipulation. 



The black bee is easily frightened, and readily 

 driven oft' the combs by smoke or other means. 

 They are also easy to shake from the combs. In 

 handling " hives instead of frames," a system that 

 must come more and more into use, these qualities 

 are valuable; and, if the frames are not so easily 

 handled as the ordinary style, highly desirable. 

 Their regard for the queen is much greater, and all 

 points of their behavior towai'd her more marked, 

 making it easier for an expert to judge of the con- 

 dition of the inside of the hive by the appearance 

 of the outside. 



The blacks are not so liable to fill up the brood- 

 chamber with honey, thus crowding the queen. 

 This is a very desirable feature when contraction 

 is practiced. This very quality, though, is apt to 

 bring them out in the fall with an empty brood- 

 chamber. Some consider this an advantage, though 

 I think most would prefer bees that look ahead a 

 little more, and do not require to be fed every fall. 

 Of course, if the fall honey is not suitable for win- 

 tering, which is probably the case at some times in 

 some localities, it is best that there should be as 

 little as possible below. 



To sum up, if you are producing comb honey ex- 

 clusively, on a large scale, ])racticing contraction, 

 handling hives instead of frames, and wintering on 

 sugar, blacks may suit you best; but under other 

 circumstances, and for an " all-purpose " bee, the 

 Italian is preferable. James A. Green. 



Dayton, III., Sept. 3.5, 18H8. 



Friend G., I believe you have presented 

 the whole matter about as fairly as it can 

 be, in a few words. I believe our experience 

 here agrees with yours in every point. We 

 liad not, however, noticed particularly tliat 

 it was special colonies that produced the 

 watery-looking honey— that is, comb honey 

 with the liquid clear up against the capping, 

 and the capping so thin and transparent 

 that the honey shows right through it. It 

 really seems too bad to destroy queens that 

 show such apparent judgment and economy 

 in . their method of putting the greatest 

 amount of sweets in the smallest compass, 

 and with the least expense. I presume, 

 however, it would not l)e worth while to at- 

 tempt to convince the public that this kind 

 of honey is worth the most for table use. 



THK WASPS. 

 aIjSo something about thousand-t.egged 



WORMS, CORN-BEETI.es, ETC. 



HAVE already considered two great families of 

 predaceous insects: The ground-beetles. Car- 

 ahidcB, which, it will be remembered, are usual- 

 ly black beetles, with long legs fitted for run- 

 ning, which are usually found in the ground, 

 or under logs and stones; and the beautiful lady- 

 bird beetles, Coccmcllkhi- , which are small rounded 

 insects, usually with yellow or orange bodies, 

 which are generally dotted with black spots. 



VESPA JIACULATA. 



Another group of insects, which consists of sev- 

 eral families, the wasi)S, are very predaceous, and, 

 by killing other insects, do a vast amount of good. 

 In reply to a correspondent, I recently remarked, 

 on Vespa macidata (see Fig.), one of our largest and 

 mort widely distributed wasps. This is the one 

 that makes the large globose paper nests which 

 are so frequently seen attached to limbs of trees, 

 etc. It is enlarged one-half in the figure. I have 

 often seen these and other wasps engaged whole- 

 sale in capturing and devouring some of our most 

 destructive insects. 



So far as I know, there are only two charges 

 made against the wasps. First, they sometimes do 

 not discriminate to our liking, and attack and kill 



