12 



MANUAL OF APICULTURE. 



THE COMMON EAST INDIAN HONEY BEE. 



(Apis indica Fab.) 



The common bee of southern Asia is kept in very limited numbers 

 and with a small degree of profit in earthen jars and sections of hol- 

 low trees in portions of the British and Dutch East Indies. They are 

 also found wild, and build when in this state in hollow trees and in 

 rock clefts. Their combs, composed of hexagonal wax cells, are ranged 

 parallel to each other like those of A. mellifera, but the worker brood 

 cells are smaller than those of our ordinary bees, showing 30 to the 

 square inch of surface instead of 20, while the comb where worker 

 brood is reared, instead of having, like that of A. mellifera, a thickness 

 of seven eighths inch, is but five-eighths inch thick. 



(Fig. 1.) 



The workers. The bodies of these, three eighths 

 inch long when empty, measure about one-half inch 

 when dilated with honey. The thorax is covered 

 with brownish hair and the shield or crescent between 

 the wings is large and yellow. The abdomen is yel- 

 low underneath. Above it presents a ringed appear- 

 ance, the anterior part of each segment being orange 

 yellow, while the posterior part shows bands of 

 brown of greater or less width and covered with 

 whitish-brown hairs; tip black. They are nimble on 

 foot and on the wing, and active gatherers. 



The queens. The queens are large in proportion to 

 their workers and are quite prolific; color, leather or 

 dark coppery. 



The drones. These arc only slightly larger than 

 the workers; color, jet-like blue black, with no yellow, their strong 

 wings showing changing hues like those of wasps. 



Manipulations with colonies of these bees are easy to perform if smoke 

 be used, and though they are more excitable than our common hive bees, 

 this peculiarity does not lead them to sting more, but seems rather 

 to proceed from fear. The sting is also less severe. 



Under the rude methods thus far employed in the management of 

 this bee no great yields of honey are obtained, some 10 or 12 pounds 

 having been the most reported from a single hive. It is quite probable 

 that if imported into this country it would do more. These bees would 

 no doubt visit many small flowers not frequented by the hive bees we 

 now have, and whose nectar is therefore wasted, but very likely they 

 might not withstand the severe winters of the North unless furnished 

 with such extra protection as would be afforded by quite warm cellars 

 or special repositories. 



Flo. 1. Worker cells 

 of common East Indian 

 honey \)ee(Apisindica) ; 

 natural size. (Original.) 



