VARIETIES OF THE HONEY-BEE, 23 



CHAPTER VII. 



VARIETIES OF THE HONEY-BEE. 



Although we find the same animals in very dif- 

 ferent countries, yet, generally speaking, we find 

 them varying in many respects — in appearance and 

 habits — according to the country in which they live. 

 Thus there are Arab horses and English horses, and, 

 again, English dogs and French dogs. And in the 

 same way, there are English bees, and Italian, 

 Syrian, and Cyprian bees ; also Indian bees and a 

 race of stingless bees in Brazil, and very many more. 



Again, just as some of the foreign animals are 

 more valuable than the English varieties — as, for 

 instance, the Syrian sheep, of which probably you 

 have seen pictures with its long tail of valuable wool 

 supported on a little carriage ; so some kinds of 

 foreign bees are better and more useful than the 

 English, although we must add that some of them 

 are bees of quick temper when carelessly treated, and 

 sting very sharp indeed. With some, however, it is 

 just the reverse, and this is especially the case with 

 the Italian, or, as they are sometimes called, Ligurian 

 bees ; of which kind you will hear a great deal, as 

 numbers of them are now kept in all parts of the 

 country instead of the common English bees. 



These Italian bees came at first from the north of 

 Italy, and are exceedingly beautiful bees, marked 

 with three bright golden bands or girdles ; and are 



