n 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 



handle the Cyprians with one-half grreater rapidity 

 than I can the Italians; that Is, with proper man- 

 agement, a given operation in manipulating bees 

 can be performed with three Cyprian colonies while 

 the same operation is being done with two Italians. 



THE MARKINGS OP CYPRIANS. 



Time will not permit my treating this topic as I 

 would like, yet I can not forbear a word or two, 

 since It has so often been brought up in Gleanings 

 this summer. The bees of Cyprus are very uniform 

 —surprisingly so, I think. We obtained colonies at 

 many points distant from each other, and saw bees 

 in many places where no purchases could be made, 

 but all presented the same appearance, taking into 

 account, of course, the age of the bees and the 

 amount of food they were likely to have in their 

 bodies. The true Cyprian is a yellower bee than the 

 Italian; indeed, I think the average Cyprian is yel- 

 lower than the brightest Italian. I refer to the 

 worker bees alone. Its body is more hairy, and the 

 abdomen more slender than will be found among 

 Italians. When filled with honey, the worker shows 

 three yellow bands, as does the Italian. Mr. Curi, of 

 Bohemia, who first described these bees, and pro- 

 cured the first colony from Cyprus, stated the work- 

 er bee has only two yellow segments, but he surely 

 failed to count the end segment, next to the thorax, 

 without which the Italians would have but two yel- 

 low bands. The fourth yellow band, as with the 

 Italians, is sometimes seen, but a more distinctive 

 mark is that the segments back of the yellow bands 

 are so tipped with whitish hairs as to give the abdo- 

 men of the Cyprian a very ringed appearance. The 

 two most distinguishing marks are, however, the 

 following: The pure Cyprian is yellow on the un- 

 der side of the abdomen, from the tip nearly for- 

 ward to the thorax; and, second, the shield on the 

 back of the thorax between the wings is very prom- 

 inent and plainly yellow. On account of its shape, I 

 call this the crescent, and it shows that its bearers are 

 from the Turkish empire, or descended from those 

 who did come from this far eastern land. The 

 Cyprian drones are in general much more mottled 

 with yellow than the Italians; and, though they are 

 not uniform, many are of a very brilliant golden 

 hue. But I claim that the true Cyprian will make 

 Itself known quite as much by its 



QUALITIES, AND NOT MARKINGS. 



I find the Cyprians active, strong-winged, sturdy 

 defenders of their hives, fighting against fearful 

 odds to preserve an existence, exceedingly keen- 

 scentcd, so that no drop of sweet escapes their no- 

 tice under conditions which would conceal it from 

 other races of bees. They are very prolific, and 

 rear brood late in the season. We have had frost 

 here, yet to-day I find brood in all stages in hives of 

 Cyprians. One other quality of great importance is 

 noticeable: A strong wind is heeded by the Cypri- 

 ans, and, upon its approach, they gather In their 

 hives to avoid it; or, if the day open windy, they do 

 not venture forth. Those who have them in Amer- 

 ica will note this, and that they will not dwindle as 

 Italians do during the coming spring. Still another 

 point in their favor is, that they can be shaken from 

 the combs very much as though they were blacks; 

 but if left to themselves do not run off, having in 

 this particular the same disposition as the Italians; 

 namely, they spread evenly over the combs and re- 

 main quiet when the latter are handled. 



Frank Benton. 



Larnaca, Island of Cyprus, Dec. 14, 1880. 



My experience with the Holy-Land bees 

 very nearly agrees with the above ; for when 

 I once get them thoroughly aroused and up 

 to the ''fighting pitch," I have never suc- 

 ceeded in quieting them with smoke, nor 

 any other means, except to close the hive and 

 let them get quiet themselves. I presume 

 most of you have seen hybrids that mani- 

 fested much of the same spirit. If the col- 

 ony is weak, there is not so much danger of 

 their getting thus roused up ; but when the 

 hive gets boiling over full, just look out how 

 you set a frame'down wliere it will slip and 

 jar. or pinch a few of the bees. Use them 

 well and they Avill use you well ; but woe 

 betide the man who is awkward or indiffer- 

 ent. Such people would better get some 

 very yellow Italians, that have been bred 

 several years for their gentleness and yel- 

 lowness, letting alone other qualities. 



Knowing how anxious our readers all are 

 to hear every word from friend Benton, I 

 have taken the liberty of giving, also, the 

 letter below, although it was evidently not 

 intended for publication. Friend B. will 

 excuse the liberty, will he not V By all 

 means, let us hear of your travels in pursuit 

 of these new bees. 



With the aid of the good wife, who has done much 

 writing and copying for me lately, I have gotten off 

 a letter for Gleanings to-day. I hope after this to 

 give you something oftener. You know, of course, 

 that my long silence was an unwilling one. 



A few words as to what I have before me for the 

 winter will no doubt interest you. 



I leave here In a few days for India and the East 

 Indian Islands, whither I hope to find some valuable 

 bees, which will, in that case, go direct to Mr. Jones, 

 in Boeton, Canada. The two races to be looked up 

 especially are Apia dorsata and Apis zonata, but I 

 trust others may also be f (jund. The route will be 

 as follows: Beyrout, Jaffa, Port Said, Suez, Aden 

 (Lower Arabia), Bombay (Hindoostan), Colombo 

 (Island of Ceylon), Singapore (Farther India), to Ba- 

 tavia (Island of Java), and perhaps I will visit Timor, 

 Celebes, and the Philippine Islands. 



Besides the bees, I shall try to obtain seeds of 

 honey-producing plants, and shall not forget valu- 

 able grains. 



I take with me 35 Cyprian and several Syrian col- 

 onies, and shall employ various styles of boxes and 

 manners of giving food. 



I expect to return here early in 4he spring, to rear 

 Cyprians next year. Will write you from varlouH 

 points of my journey. Frank Benton. 



Larnaca, Dec. U, 1880. 



SUCCESSFUL! BEE CUIiTUUE. 



THE NEED OF TACT IN BEE CULTURE. 



^iW^R. EDITOR:— The above caption covers so 

 MiM. much ground, that I propose only to touch 

 — upon one or two branches of the subject, and 

 I don't propose to say a word about queens, comb 

 foundation, bee feeders, hives, or any of this class 

 of useful Implements, for all about them has been 

 told, and well told, very many times, by able and ex* 

 perienced bee-keepers. Has it not occurred to you 

 that men who were first-class mechanics were rath* 

 er more apt to fail, when trying to carry on business 

 "on their own hook," than the class called "botches,'' 



