1907 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



T 



1443 



FIG. 4. — BROOD-FRAME AND SLATTED DIVIDER. 



soon as it was ready for market, provided, 

 of course, the preliminary tests were satis- 

 factory. 



This hive is not yet for sale, as ]\lr. Aspin- 

 wall wishes to test it carefully before it is 

 put on the market. 



BEES OF CEYLON. 



BY C. DRIEBERG. 



You may be interested to know that bee- 

 keeping {albeit in a small way) has been 

 started in Ceylon. We have, as you are no 

 doubt aware, three indigenous honey-bees 

 worth mentioning. 



1. Axns IncUca, the common bee. 



3. jipis dorsata, a large form. 



3. Apis Jlorea, the smallest of the three. 



Apis Indica has for a long time been un- 

 der partial domestication, and is commonly 

 induced by the natives to build in i-ound 

 earthenware pots. The gathering of the hon- 

 ey is done after driving the bees out with 

 the aid of smoke. In nature these bees build 

 in the hollows of trees. Of late, attempts 



(more or less successful) have been made to 

 keep them in frame hives of suitable dimen- 

 tions, but the quantity of honey stored is 

 most discouraging. 



Apis dorsata has been x-ef erred to as "the 

 giant bee of the East." It builds truly gi- 

 gantic combs in the open, generally depend- 

 ent from the branch of forest trees. Mr. 

 Benton considers these bees very promising, 

 both as honey and wax producers; but up to 

 date no one has succeeded in housing them 

 for any length of time in a frame hive, and 

 their reputation for fierceness has not favor- 

 ed the repetition of experiments. The hon- 

 ey is sought after as a medicinal agent, and 

 collected only by the boldest of bee-hunters. 



Ajns florea is a gentle bee which constructs 

 a delicate white single comb, generally built 

 round the twig of a tree. The quality of the 

 honey is perfect. Owing to the habit of 

 building single combs in tne open, these bees 

 can not be induced to take to frame hives. 



I should much like to know whether the 

 above-mentioned apides are found in the 

 Philippines, and whether any thing has been 

 done by the U. S. Agricultural Department 

 to utilize their produce. 



