S3 1 



Bees in this region vary Somewhat in cof'or and characteristics. Gor- 

 bachoff, the leading authority on Caucasian bees recognizes five races. 

 The Russian investigator. Mikhailoff recognizes but two. In any case 

 the bees vary in color from yellowish to almost black. The variety is 

 called the gray banded Caucasian is recognized by Gorbachoff to be a 

 comparatively mild swarmer, builds few burr and brace combs, caps its 

 honey well and does not build a. propolis defense at the entrance. In- 

 dividuals of this extremely gentle race have a brownish black body 

 color and silver gray bands of hair on the abdomen. The queens are 

 comparatively large when compared with the Italians^ are a dark 

 mahogany color with lighter regions near the articulations of body 

 segments. The drones are blue-black. The workers are not very differ- 

 ent in size from the Italians. The Caucasian bee will rob though not as 

 enthusiastically as the Italian nor as persistently as the German. The 

 production of honey by this bee is very satisfactory when compared 

 to the Italians. The Caucasian bees are noted for seeking their own 

 homes. That is, with a colony of Caucasians in a yard of Italians it will 

 be a rare occurance to find stray Caucasian bees in an Itlian hive. Cau- 

 casians winter well due to a very compact winter cluster. 



The Carniolan Bee 



As in the case of the other races the Carniolan bee is native to an 

 isolated region. This is located high in the Alps Mountains. There are 

 undoubtedly strains of these bees. Prof. Francis Jaeger is one of the 

 authorities for this assertion although it has not been worked out as 

 thoroughly as in the case of the two races hitherto mentioned. The 

 Carniolan bee, it seems, is slightly larger than the Italians and Cau- 

 casians. It is very gentle and prolific. It is a good honey gatherer, and 

 a fine cell builder for use in a queen rearins yard. They collect little 

 propolis, winter admirably and cap their honey white. The consensus of 

 opinin among people who have tried them is that they swarm excess- 

 ively. In regard to the different races of Carniolan bees it appears that 

 the Banats, Dalmatian and other bees resembling the Carniolans are 

 hybrids of the true Carniolan race with other bees and derive the names 

 given them from the province in which they originated. 



The German Bee 



The German bees are black in color and are known among American 

 beekeepers as black bees. These bees are subject to very great varia- 

 tion which is partially explained by the hybridization with other races, 

 chiefly the Italians. The German bee is no exception of the rule that 

 races of bees were originated in distinct regions. It is probable that the 

 true German bee arose in the reigon roughly outlined by the present 

 German Republic. It is very doubtful whether at present there are 

 pure German bees in the United States. German bees are reputedly less 

 prolific than Italians, build more queen cells, develop fertile workers more 

 readily, are poor housekeepers, are nervous and succumb more quickly 

 to European foulbrood. Many beekeepers, however defend the black 

 bees because of their habit of capping honey more attt-actively than 



