1919 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



379 



Beekeeping in the Netherlands 



By P. J. Frenay 

 (Translated from L'Apiculteur) 



IN the Netherlands few bees from 

 foreign countries are kept in 

 their purity. In fact, they keep 

 only the common bee (apis mellifica ) 

 which constitutes the basis of all 

 apiaries, in France, Belgium, and in 

 general all through Western Europe. 

 It is incorrectly called "German bee," 

 probably because it is similar to that 

 of Hanover, Oldenburg, Lunebourg, 

 etc., whose apiarists are in constant 

 relations with those of the Nether- 

 lands. 



The indigenous bee of Holland is 

 distinguishable from its congeners of 

 the common race by qualities suffi- 

 ciently remarkable to cause many 

 breeders to believe in the existence 

 of a special variety, which they have 

 called "heidebei," or "heather bee." 

 This conception has been, in several 

 circumstances, confirmed; as for in- 

 stance, through an address of Dr. 

 Dathe who, as early as 1830, called 

 the attention of beekeepers to the 

 bee of heather regions of Luneburg, 

 Hanover, a variety of the common 

 bee which he considered as specially 

 interesting, through its remarkable 

 activity in work and the fecundity of 

 its queens; also the zoological con- 

 gress of Giessen, Hesse, in which the 

 heather bee was studied, classified it 

 as a special variety and baptized it 

 with the name of "apis mellifica 

 Lehzeni," after Lehzen, the apiarist 

 who described it. 



This question of the existence of a 

 distinct variety, is still at the pres- 

 ent day the subject of a great many 

 discussions, among Netherland bee- 

 keepers. It is worth while to try to 

 get back to the origin of this va- 

 riety. 



Jan Swammerdam (1637-1680), a 

 learned Hollandese naturalist to 

 whom apiarian science is indebted for 

 numerous and interesting .observa- 

 tions, studied bees long before Hu- 

 ber. In his work, (Johannis Swam- 

 merdammii Biblia, sive historia in- 

 sectorum. Leyde, Isaacum Seveii- 

 num, 1737) he constantly refers to 

 the common bees and does not ap- 

 pear to have been interested in va- 

 rieties. 



The modern Netherland writers, in 

 their practical manuals, are unani- 

 mous in mentioning the common bee 

 as indigenous, and say but little on 

 the question of races. This is prob- 

 ably due to the fact that the local 

 bee, by its qualities, has shown her- 

 self superior to the foreign varieties, 

 the introduction of which was at- 

 tempted at different dates. 



Dr. G. A. Ootmar, alone perhaps, in 

 his important book, "De Wonderen 

 van het Bijenvolk" (Groningen 1916), 

 goes into details on this subject. He 

 recalls the fact that Theodores Clu- 

 tius, of Leyde, in the little treatise 

 entitled "Van de Bij" (1597), writes 

 of the bee that it is small, of dark 

 yellowish color, but not blackish ; 

 hairless, with a short abdomen. G. 

 A. Ootmar states also that Delia 

 Rocca in his "Traite complet sur les 

 abeilles" (Paris, 1760), states that, at 

 that time, France imported from 



Holland dawn-colored bees. This 

 race, of which there seem to be no 

 specimens left in domesticity, was 

 signalized by this author long before 

 the introduction of the first Italian 

 queens, which permits the supposi- 

 tion that he referred to a local race 

 existing at that time. 



Let us mention also Langstroth, 

 who in his celebrated work, "Hive 

 and Honey Bee," speaks of a race 

 called "La Petite Hollandaise," which 

 is said to be a variety of the common 

 race. 



Although the foregoing quotations 

 do not agree well, there is no doubt 

 that Apis mellifica is the original 

 stock of the Netherland bee, the pos- 

 sible crosses with the variety men- 

 tioned by Delia Rocca, or with im- 

 ported bees, may have modified 

 slightly some of the characters of 

 the race, but they have not created a 

 type sufficiently characteristic to 

 permit the undoubted conclusion of 

 the existence of a distinct variety. 



The size of the workers among the 

 different colonies shows appreciable 

 differences; some hives are found in 

 which the inhabitants are excessive- 

 ly small, while others, rarely, of a 

 size resembling that of the Carni- 

 c'an. The average type which we 

 consider as the standard, shows a 

 trifle larger size than the common 

 black bee. 



Since this slight difference is not 

 really an improvement of the race, 

 we must try to indicate why the 

 Netherland bee is so manifestly su- 

 "erior to the common bee, in regard 

 to the prolificness and precocity of 

 the queens, the remarkable activity 

 and rusticity of the workers, and 

 also why they winter so well. Our 

 opinion is that those qualities are 

 due to the conditions of breeding and 

 to the country's climate. 



The Netherlands are formed, in the 

 greater part, of an immense sandy 

 plain which was conquered from the 

 sea by the obstinate and secular 

 work of its Inhabitants. The alti- 

 tude is therefore low; a portion of 

 the country is even below the sea- 

 level. The climate is influenced by 

 this situation. It is essentially damp, 

 and the presence of numerous 

 marshes aggravates the conditions. 

 The absence of inequalities or slopes 

 in the land causes the country to be 

 constantly swept by winds. The cli- 



mate is so severe, Ine winters so 

 long and distressing, the rains are 

 so frequent that a national wit made 

 the statement that in Holland one 

 can enjoy 4 months of winter and 8 

 months of stormy wetther. 



No part of the country shows full 

 resources of beekeeping. Although 

 certain portions have been put in 

 cultivation and pastures, large tracts 

 are still uncultivated and covered 

 with heather and pines. So the bees, 

 having accustomed themselves to the 

 rigors of the climate, have been sub- 

 jected to nomadic beekeeping. For 

 beekeeping here is positively no- 

 madic. 



The beekeepers of the poor sec- 

 tions, in which the blooming of buck- 

 wheat and heather is late, send their 

 colonies, in March or April, to more 

 prosperous regions, bringing them 

 back after the bloom of the fruit 

 trees. On the other hand, the bee- 

 keepers of the prosperous regions 

 send their bees to the heather at the 

 opening of this bloom, that is to say, 

 in the first fortnight of August. Some 

 Apiarists even move them 3 times. 

 Those trips, of which one at least is 

 made in the heat of summer, repre- 

 sent jonrnevs of 25 to 30 kilometers 

 (16 to 20 miles) in carts, after 100 

 kilometers, more or less by rail. They 

 have helped to perpetuate the use of 

 the straw skep, which is cheap, 

 easily transported and stands splen- 

 didly long and unpleasant trips, 

 when such transportation would be 

 very expensive and dangerous for 

 large movable-frame hives. _ The 

 skeps used are of straw. 12x14 inches 

 of inside diameter. The flight hole 

 is at about one-third of the height. 



When the colonies are located, in 

 early spring, in a country of early 

 bloom, the attraction of honey and 

 pollen-bearing flowers causes them 

 to fly in spite of unfavorable temper- 

 ature. The rusticity of the race be- 

 comes accentuated by this training. 

 The bringing in by the bees of both 

 pollen and nectar encourages the 

 queen to lay. This early _ urging 

 every spring, necessity helping the 

 organs, causes the queens to acquire 

 forwardness and this quality re- 

 mains. 



The gathering of nectar during 

 many months, owing to the nomadic 

 methods, and the rigor of the cli- 

 mate, causing the death of many 



The Netherlands bees are kept principally in small skeps. 



