(tLKaxings in mee culture. 



June 



•< M LI<.SS itl<l<:S«»t- SOCJ'I'H AITII^KIC'A. 



A KKi'Ol.T FI{03I iHKIK NATIVE SHORES, 

 Ar LAM\ 



■j'TAvill be remeiiibeied that friend Noel- 

 \ tiiiK K^'ve us a promise (see pajie iy3, 

 Apri! No ), to write us full particulars 

 in regard to the stingless bees in their na- 

 tive clime. Here is his letter in regard to 

 the matter:— 



A. I. Root:— In regard to your wishes expressed by 

 your letter dated Dec. 8, 1880, I send you inclosed my 

 correspondence about "stingless bees" I had with 

 Prof. Dr. Burincister. This gentleman traveled as 

 naturalist, by order of the German government, 

 through Brazil and the Argentine Republic, and his 

 voyages, described in some large volumes, are high- 

 ly esteemed in scientific circles. You receive the 

 letters in their original language; 1 am very willing 

 to serve you as much as I can, but should not like 

 to make myself ridiculous in your language. Ger- 

 mans are so abundant in the U. S. that you will eas- 

 ily find a man who will translate for you the letters. 

 I have also inquired about stingless bees of Para- 

 guay and Tucuman, but have not received any an- 

 swer yet. My orders I send you next. 



J. NOELTING. 



Buenos Aires, S. A., March 7, 1881. 



And here is the translation of the papers 

 sent us:— 



To Prof . Dr. BurmeUter:—! have received an ar- 

 ticle and prospectus from the U. S., addressed to 

 Mr. Noeltse, but intended for me, where I am asked 

 for information about stingless bees; but as I have 

 never heard but very little about these insects (al- 

 though I am much interested about them), and as I 

 would like to give a satisfactory answer, I take the 

 liberty to ask you for information, as far as you 

 have had the opportunity to get acquainted with 

 them. You know the North Americans have an eye 

 for the practical side of every thing, therefore I will 

 ask you to answer the following questions:— 



a. Are the so-called " stingless bees " real bees, 

 wasps, or mclipimes'/ 



h. Are they confined only to the tropical zones, 

 or do they live in both the tropical and temperate 

 zones, or can they be acclimatized to colder coun- 

 tries? Are they found in Paraguay or Chaea Tucu- 

 man? 



c. Do they live in swarms like our bcffs, multiply 

 the same way, and gather quantities of honey? 



d. Is their honey as good as the honey of our 

 bees, and can it be used for as many purposes? can 

 it be crystallized? 



e. Do these stingless bees build a solid comb of 

 wax or other stuff, perpendicular with six-cornered 

 cells, or is the web arched with cells on one side? 

 do they store their honey in little pot-shaped cavi- 

 ties, as it is said to be the way with meliponesf 



f. Do you think they could be crossed with our 

 honey-bee? 



g. Do these stingless bees have perhaps another 

 weapon for defense, that might be worse or more 

 unpleasant than the sting of our bees? 



li. Would the keeping of stingless bees be prac- 

 tical? J. NOELTING. 

 Buenos Aires, S. A., Feb. 23, 1881. 



Mr. J. Noelting:— Your correspondence of Feb. 23 

 has been received, and I can answer most of these 

 questions with No, 



I will answer them in succession as you gave 

 I htm 



a. Stingless honey-bees are without exception 

 meliponcs 



b. They live in hot and woody countries, and are 

 not found near Buenos Aires. Near Mendoza I 

 found a plentiful kind of Meliponcs anthidiaidcs ; 

 another smaller and more unknown kind 1 caught 

 near Tucuman. Both of these kinds produce no 

 honey. The honey of the insects of this hot cli- 

 mate is produced by a bind of wasp, such as Lechi- 

 guana or Polyhia sceeteliaries and Camuati, known 

 as Ncctariida IccJiiguana; both of these kinds are 

 plentiful, but not as far south as Buenos Aires. 



f. The honey-gathering meliponc» live in large 

 companies, as do our honey-bees; but it is not yet 

 known whether they send out swarms, or how they 

 multiply. In Brazil it is the custom to take a few 

 egg-contsining combs (of several kinds) and put 

 them in boxes near by, to induce them to be domes- 

 ticated, and sometimes with success; but not al- 

 ways, and their new home must always be near their 

 old one in the forest. 



d. The honey of these mclipones is more flowing 

 than the honey of our house bees. If it can be crys- 

 tallized, it is not known. 



c. The webs are upright, and the cells horizontal, 

 like those of our bees, but are generally much small- 

 er; the wax is dark — almost black. I got some in 

 Tucuman to look at. 



/. It is impossible to cross them with our honey- 

 bees, as both live in great hostility to each other. 



g. The meliponcs have the power, like ants, to 

 eject a biting fluid, which produces a burning sensa- 

 tion; there are about 40 different kinds known; they 

 attack persons in the face who disturb their home, 

 and are very troublesome. 



h. It is not probable that they can be kept in ar- 

 tificial hives, as some kinds live in the ground, oth- 

 ers in hollow trees, and never in a free and swing- 

 ing situation, like the before-mentioned wasps. 



This is about all that I am able to tell, and wish 

 that it may be of benefit to you. 



H. BURMEISTEH. 



Buenos Aires, S. A., March 5, 1881. 



Friend N., when you will tell us how we 

 sliall repay this kindness by serving you as 

 much, we will most gladly hasten to do it. 



THE ADVENT OF ITAI.1ANS INTO 

 QUEENSLAND, AUS TKAIilA. 



^njS|^EAK NOVICE:- Will you excuse this liberty? 

 MM —well, I won't apologize, for I know you de- 

 — light to hear and publish in your invaluable 

 periodical all the news about apiculture. I ob- 

 served, in Jan. Gleanings, "Italian bees have been 

 successfully introduced into New ZeaJaml. You 

 may now add, such has been effected for Queens- 

 land, after a great many failures ! You are not 

 unacquainted with these failures; the names of 

 J. G. Cribb and J. Carroll are familiar to you. 



It is a long job getting bees to this country direct ; 

 but had I to do it again, I am confident I could do so 

 without difliculty (that is, great dilBculty.) Careful 

 attention would be requisite, of course. You would 

 like to know? Well, I determined to visit England 

 after an absence of nearly 20 years. I told friend 

 Cribb I had a mind to try to get some of the yellow 

 bands over to fight our terrific bee moth. He of 

 course encouraged the idea, aiid rather flattered me 



