THE LIGURIAN BEE. 203 



preference over the common bees. The Baron says that 

 he has found : — " i. That the Italian bees are less sensi- 

 tive to cold than the common kind. 2. That their queens 

 are more prolific. 3. That the colonies swarm earlier 

 and more frequently. 4. That they are less apt to sting, 

 5. They are more industrious. 6. That they are 

 more disposed to rob than common bees, and more 

 courageous and active in self-defence. They strive, 

 whenever opportunity offers, to force their way into 

 colonies of common bees ; but when strange bees attack 

 their hives, they fight with great fierceness and with 

 incredible adroitness." 



It is said that the Italian bee can extract honey from 

 some flowers which the common bee is unable to pene- 

 trate. For instance, the blossom tubes of the red clover 

 being too deep for the probosces of the common bees, 

 that flower is useless to them, although so plentiful ; but, 

 says Mr. Langstroth, the American apiarian, the Italian 

 bee visits the red clover assiduously, and draws large 

 quantities of honey from it* 



The introduction of this new yariety of bee into Eng- 

 land was through our agency. M. Hermann, a bee- 

 cultivator at Tamins-by-Chur, Canton Grison, Switzer- 

 land, wrote to us on the 5th July, 1859, offering to supply 

 us with Italian Alp queen-bees. This letter, or an ex- 

 tract from it, appeared in the current number of the 



* This opinion is not held by the closest observer of Italian 

 bees in England. 



