FOREIGN BEES. 157 



exist and to have all the honey-producing properties of 

 our own Honey Bee, with some other advantages besides, 

 it seems remarkable that it should have remained so long 

 uncultivated by the Apiarians of this country. First 

 brought over the Alps in 1843 by M. de Ralderstein, the 

 merit of introducing it to this country is due to Mr. A. 

 Neighbour, who, having made the necessary preliminary 

 inquiries, placed himself in communication with Mons. 

 H. C. Hermann, of Tamin-by-Chur, in the Canton of 

 Grison, Switzerland; and on the 19th of July, 1859, the 

 Ligurian Bee was introduced to England. 



The Italian Yellow Bee differs from the common 

 Black Bee, in having three light chrome yellow- coloured 

 abdominal bands, each i-i6th of an inch wide. The 

 Queen is lighter in colour, but otherwise not different in 

 appearance to Black Queens. 



The Ligurian Queens are more prolific, their progeny 

 swarm earlier and more frequently, and also work much 

 harder, being abroad both earlier and later. It has been 

 often said that they work on flowers inaccessible to the 

 common Bee, as their tongues are longer; but, from 

 careful microscopical measurement of a large number, I 

 can contradict this; the size of both Bees and tongues 

 vary, like in the common Bees, but after measuring and 

 averaging many, I found the length practically the same. 



Ligurian Bees are now largely cultivated in Britain, 

 and are generally preferred to the common Black Bee; 

 and many Bee-keepers, taking advantage of the fact that 

 the Ligurians and Blacks are both one species (although 

 which is the variety and which the species is unknown to 

 us), and having well proved the theory of Parthenogenesis, 

 have successfully replaced their Black Queens with 

 Ligurians, and so eventually succeeded in Ligurianizing 

 their whole Apiary. This may be accomplished in various 



