210 EXOTIC BEES. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

 EXOTIC BEES. 



BEES are, in all probability, the most universal 

 of all animals ; and notwithstanding their impa- 

 tience of cold, they seem adapted to live in all 

 climates. They are accordingly to be met with 

 in every quarter of the globe, and in every quar- 

 ter they seem to flourish, if duly attended to. 



In all tropical climates there are little black bees 

 without stings. Those of Guadaloupe are only 

 half the size of those in Europe, and are rounder 

 in their form. They build in hollow trees, or in 

 the cavities of rocks by the sea-side, where they 

 lay up their honey in cells about the size and 

 shape of a pigeon's egg ; these cells are of a 

 black or deep violet colour, and joined together, 

 so as to leave no space between them ; they hang 

 in clusters almost like a bunch of grapes ; each 

 cell somewhat resembles a small bottle or blad- 

 der ; when filled with honey the cell is closed up. 



The honey collected by these bees is said not 

 to be so unpalatable nor so surfeiting as that of 

 Europe. By unpalatable I conceive the writers 

 merely to mean, that it has less of that peculiar 

 flavour which European honey possesses. A 

 writer in the 15th volume of the Philosophical 



