1302 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 15 



satisfied with the management nor with any 

 of the officers, but because my time was 

 taken up so much with my general work that 

 I did not feel that I could do justice to the 

 Association. While I still feel the same way, 

 I do not wish to be unreasonable to the ex- 

 tent of declining the election the second 

 time. I certainly appreciate the compliment 

 of the second election in the face of declin- 

 ing the first ; and as to whether I can accept 

 the office will be determined later, after I 

 consult some of my friends. 



IS THERE A FUTURE FOR STINGLESS BEES? 



Apparently there will be a strong de- 

 mand for the Caucasian bees because they 

 are generally spoken of as being very gen- 

 tle. While individual specimens may be 

 cross, their general reputation is good on 

 the one point, at least, of being docile and 

 easily handled, whether they have any other 

 desirable qualities or not. Now, it is pos- 

 sible that there is a class of people in this 

 country who would like to go one step 

 further, and secure bees that could not sting, 

 even if they would. There is no doubt that 

 Uncle Sam will help us to investigate the 

 qualities of the melipona so we shall know 

 more about them in the future than we do 

 "now. But from what we know of stingless 

 bees in general we should hardly be war- 

 ranted in concluding that they will ever be 

 commercially important ; and it is even doubt- 

 ful whether they could adapt themselves to 

 our particular climate. Perhaps they could 

 be kept in our extreme southern States. As 

 a matter of fact, there is one small species, 

 I believe, of the stingless bees in Texas. 



the folly of keeping the bees out too 



LATE. 



In our last issue, page 1234, I took the 

 position that it was better to leave the bees 

 out as long as possible in order to give them 

 one more winter's flight. The editor of the 

 Reviezv took the ground that it was prefe-able 

 to put the bees in early, saving them the 

 severe chills pending a warm flying day that 

 might not come. I differed then with my 

 brother-editor on this point, as will be remem- 

 bered. Some experiments we have been mak- 

 ing since, the result of which is just made 

 apparent, goes to show that Bro. Hutchinson 

 was nearer right than I — at least for this fall. 



We put in the shop cellar about half of 

 our colonies some three weeks ago, selecting 

 the weaker ones, leaving the stronger ones 

 outdoors. Today, as we put in the last lot, 

 it was plainly evident that during the three 

 weeks they had consumed largely of their 

 stores, and were weaker in actual force of 

 bees. Our Mr. Pritchard reports that the 

 colonies that were put in three weeks ngo. and 

 were not as strong at the time as the others 

 left out, are iwiv ahead in point of numbers 

 and weight of stores. It is true the second 

 lot had the benefit of a nice flight; but three 

 weeks of cold weather cost them in stores 



and bees a r^ood deal more than we gained. 

 Whether this will prove true fveru fall, 

 I cannot say ; but I am frank to acknowledge 

 that Mr. Hutchinson hit the nail squarer on 

 the head than I did. 



the scientific classification of THE HONEY- 

 BEE. 



Lest the reader may become a little con- 

 fused in regard to the classifications as men- 

 tioned elsewhere in the article on stingless 

 bees, it may be well to explain. 



In the first place, the honey-bee belongs 

 to the general order of Hymcnoptera, mean- 

 ing membraneous-winged insects. In this 

 we find the family Apidcc. This is further 

 subdivided by genera, comprising the fol- 

 lowing: Apis, the hive bee; Bomlms, the 

 bumble bee ; Xylocopa, the carpenter bee ; 

 Megachila, the leaf-cutter; and the Melipona, 

 the stingless bee of the American tropics. 

 The first genus. Apis, includes such species 

 as Apis mellifera, Apis dorsata. Apis Indica, 

 etc. Each one of these species comprises 

 varieties or races. Under Apis mellifera we 

 have Italians, Cyprians, German, Caucasians, 

 Carniolans, and the like. Under Melipona 

 we have also a large number of species, 

 some of which have been named, and some, 

 probably, have never received the careful at- 

 tention of a scientist. In the article else- 

 where, Mr. Green is describing one species 

 of the genus Melipona. Not knowing the 

 name of this particular species, he designates 

 ii- by the general generic name, comparing 

 it with species of Mellifera of the genus 

 Apis. 



Possibly this may seem "all Greek" for 

 Latin) to some; but in scientific articles of 

 this kind it is very necessary that we do 

 not get misled or mixed when we come 

 to talk about races, species, and genera. 



Referring to the particular Melipona des- 

 cribed in this issue, the illustrations will 

 doubtless enable some scientific men to give 

 the species. If this is the largest and most 

 important of the Melipona, then we ought 

 to know its name just as we know the name 

 of Apis dorsata, the giant bee of India. If 

 they are the giant bees of the Melipona, then 

 we ought, of course, to know the name. 



the first-prize swarm of bees. 

 The first-prize photo of a swarm of bees, 

 by A. L. Errett, on page 1319, shows up 

 as fine a cluster of bees as was ever taken 

 by a camera. Even the white fuzz bands 

 and the yellow ones, as well as the gauzy 

 wings of the bees, stand out clear and dis- 

 tinct. To photograph successfully a swarm 

 of bees is one of the most difficult things 

 in all beedom, as I know by experience. In 

 the first place, yellow takes black. The 

 other portions of the bees, except the fuzz 

 bands, are black. Then as a general thing 

 a swarm will hang in some shady spot out 

 of the direct rays of the sun. All these 



