1881 



GLEAXINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



71 



CYPRIAN BEES IN THEIR NATIVE L ANI». 



By OCR OLD FRIEND FRANK BENTON. 



^q LEANINGS has been a very welcome visitor in 

 w|5a"J my island home each month during the past 

 ^^""^ trying season; for, though my health, my 

 eyes, and the work in the apiary would not permit 

 me to read any of the journals thoroughly, I could 

 still look them over and read some. Had it been 

 possible, I would certainly have added my testimony 

 in regard to many points which have been discussed 

 during the preceding months, especially the ref- 

 erences made to the new races of bees lately intro- 

 duced into America. My work with these bees has 

 led me to several conclusions which I believe, if 

 stated, may aid not a little those whose experience 

 with them has been more limited. I will tell you 

 first a little about the season here, that you may see 

 that I have had a chance to handle the bees under 

 various circumstances— oftentimes very unfavora- 

 ble conditions. 



THE SEASON. 



My first work with Cyprian bees in Cyprus was 

 done in the month of March, at Kythrea, among the 

 mountains of the north coast. The winter had been 

 one of unusual severity, and had continued long, 

 while cold rains had prevented the bees from flying 

 much during the weeks just preceding the time of 

 my work. Of course, as the natives cut all the hon- 

 ey-combs from the rear portion of their hives — clay 

 cylinders— just at the close of each honey season, 

 those colonies that had managed to survive the win- 

 ter and early spring were scantily provisioned, and 

 cross enough when touched during the chilly, rainy 

 weather. I had no smoker with me, but with the 

 greatest smudge I could raise I could not escape 

 multitudes of stings. After two mule runaways, in 

 one of which I was literally covered with bee-stings 

 while saving some seven or eight mules from death 

 by stinging, and several sleepless night -journeys 

 over mountains where the only passage is a break- 

 neck mule-path, "the Cyprus Apiary" was found to 

 number something over one hundred colonies. Dur- 

 ing the following weeks, the supply of honey brought 

 in by the bees was scarcely enough to favor queen- 

 rearing, and nuclei had to be fed sugar syrup. After 

 about the middle of May, very little was gathered; 

 and during the later months, since July, nothing; 

 for no rain fell here between May 10th and Sept. 

 15th, and with no source of irrigation, the fields be- 

 came perfectly barren under the fierce tropical sun 

 of the long summer days. The mercury rose to 114° 

 F., and sometimes a hot wind— the sirocco of the 

 African desert— blew from the south. Cool nights 

 began about the middle of last month, though the 

 days continued warm— even hot at mid-day— until 

 the second week of December. Cold rains and wind 

 followed, until to-day it Is sunshiny, and the bees 

 are again bringing in pollen. 



HANDLING THE CYPRIANS. 



After transferring a large number of colonies, and 

 spending some hours getting the frames nailed 

 down ready for their journey over the mountains, I 

 thought Cyprians would defend their hives against 

 two-legged intruders quite as well as any bees I had 

 ever seen. 1 knew, however, that it would be hard- 

 ly fair to denominate them cross, simply because 

 they resented handling during cold spring weather 

 when provisions were very limited. With a smoker 

 and more moderate weather, especially if I had 

 baited them a little with sugar syrup, I found I got 



along very well in the main, but every now and 

 then some hive would refuse to be quieted by smoke. 

 Many of these instances I could not account for, be- 

 cause I was sure I had handled the combs carefully, 

 and observed all the little points necessary to suc- 

 cessful manipulation— at least, all I would have ob- 

 served with Italian or black bees. But now I under- 

 stand the matter better, and find that Cyprians are 

 less inclined to sting than Jtulians, provided they 

 are handled with as much reference to their pecul- 

 iarities as is necessary with Italians. Under allcon- 

 ditions and at all times of the day, even from daj- 

 light until nine o'clock at night, I have handled 

 Cyprian bees, without smoke, and with no bee-veil 

 nor even a hat on my head. Bare-headed, bare- 

 handed, with low slippers on my feet, no coat nor 

 vest on, my shirt cut low in the neck, and all my 

 garments thin, I have worked hour after hour 

 among the Cyprians just as fast as I could make my 

 limbs and body move, transferring colonies, dividing 

 swarms into nuclei, and putting up queens for ship- 

 ment, all the while shaking and brushing the bees 

 about ju'Jt as though they were so many Italians, 

 and a big basswood harvest was on hand. I say 

 shaking them, for they can be shaken from the 

 combs quite as easily as can black bees, and hrugh- 

 imj them is a datigerous experiment unless they are 

 well filled with honey. Now, it must be remembered 

 that all this was done at a time when no honey was 

 coming in, and when feeding had not been kept up 

 regularly, the colonies that had not been fed and 

 those that had having been opened indiscriminately; 

 the handling was often at the most unseasonable 

 hours of the day; and, lastly, there were often many 

 visitors present; yet I was rarely stung, and I rec- 

 ollect but one instance in which a visitor was stung. 

 The only points I observed carefully were the fol- 

 lowing:— I ope«ed the hives with extreme caution; the 

 quilt was removed slow! ij, and the hecs left to them- 

 selves for a moment before I touched the frames; then 

 the first frame was very carcfalhj removed, after which 

 no further especial caution was needed, except that 

 thei-e musthe no jarring of frames, either in remov- 

 ing them, in handling, or in replacing them. Any 

 one would be likely to say, "These things are all 

 very good to observe with any race of bees; but will 

 they prevent Cyprians from stinging, when their 

 observance in handling blacks and Italians, under 

 the conditions you mention, would avail little as far 

 as keeping these races under subjection is con- 

 cerned?" It seemed to answer with me, and I dis- 

 covered that the Cyprians were very susceptible re- 

 garding the sudden admission of light into the brood 

 apartment, and they resent in the strongest manner 

 any jarring of the hive or combs. I think they ore 

 far more likely to be aroused by either of these 

 things than are the Italians or blacks, and are not 

 as easily subdued with smoke, or, in fact, at all. 

 They will follow the bee-keeper with great pertinac- 

 ity as he leaves the hive, going a long distance, and 

 even through several doors, for a chance to sting. 

 When a hive is once thoroughly aroused, the better 

 plan seems to be to close it and leave it for an hour 

 or more. They meddle with passers-by who do not 

 touch them, less, even, than the Italians. The above 

 would likely lead to incorrect inferences should I 

 close this subject without statmg the conclusion 

 which the season's work among the bees of Cyprus 

 has caused me to form regarding the relative rapid- 

 ity with which Cyprian and Italian bees can be han- 

 dled; hence I state here that I fully believe I can 



