PRACTICAL BEEKEEPING 25 



ventilation, swarming is found to be no more prevalent among them 

 than among other bees of prolific character. The workers are larger 

 than most bees and are strong flyers and good honey gatherers, of 

 a dusty gray appearance, caused by gray hairs in well defined rings 

 on the abdomen. The drones are the largest of any honey bees and 

 of a grayish color. The queens are large and vary from light 

 leathery color to an almost bronze black. The Carniolans gather the 

 least propolis of any known bees. They can be easily handled at 

 night, not flying and crawling as most bees do. When handled in 

 the daytime they remain quietly on the combs and the rare spec- 

 tacle of a queen quietly laying eggs while the hive is open has been 

 observed on a comb, so unconcerned are the bees. 



Another strain of bees recently brought to the notice of the 

 beekeeping world, yet not extensively imported, are the Banater bees 

 of Hungary. These bees resemble in appearance the Carniolans 

 but are smaller and not quite so gray, there being more of a ten- 

 dency to show yellow. It is said by Hungarian beekeepers that 

 they have no trouble from excessive swarming with their bees, and 

 that the Banater bees are prolific and good honey gatherers. Far- 

 ther east, over in the Siebenberg region, more yellow is noticed in 

 the markings. This is true as one journeys southeastward through 

 Servia, Roumellia into Turkey. The writer also noticed a steady 

 increase of excitability shading off into the very excitable bees of 

 the Orient. 



Continuing the belt of gray bees of Carniola and Hungary are 

 the Caucasians found in the province of Caucasus, in the region of 

 Southern Russia, between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. 

 These bees are smaller even than the Banater bees, with more point- 

 ed bodies, and even more dusty gray than the Carniolans. They 

 rival the Carniolans in gentleness of temperament and perhaps are 

 the most gentle bees yet known to the world. So very pronounced 

 is this characteristic that they have been popularly called stingless, 

 although they have well developed stingers and can be provoked 

 to use them occasionally. These bees are being imported quite ex- 

 tensively and seem to give general satisfaction wherever introduced. 

 Toward the south the yellow type begins to appear, bearing out the 

 general tendency noticed in the other bees of central Europe, al- 

 ready discussed. 



In general it will be noticed that the bees of north Europe are 



