BEEKEEPING IN KANSAS. 



, [Dr. J. H. Mer rill, assistant professor of entomology at Kansas State Agricultural Col- 

 jse, Manhattan, who is also state apiarist, has prepared the following papers, whitih are of 

 uch interest to those who keep bees.] / 



KACES OF BEES IN KANSAS. 



There are several races of bees found in Kansas. They are principally the 

 ^lack or German bees, Caucasians, Carniolans, Italians, Goldens, and last 

 1 >ut not least, the hybrids. Each one of these different races has individual 

 characteristics, some good and some bad. With some of the races the bad 

 i joints overbalance the good, thus making that race unsuitable for honey 

 production in our state. 



, The Black (or German) bee has probably been in this country longer than 

 my of the other races. It is commonly spoken of as the native bee, although 

 this is not true, as honeybees are not natives of this country. They were 

 introduced into New England in 1638, and on account of their long stay 

 :here have come to be known as native bees. In spite of having been here 

 [for so long, they are not particularly well adapted to this country. They are 

 less prolific than the Italian bees, are very cross, build a great many queen: 

 cells, and therefore swarm often. They are not very good at cleaning their 

 'hives or resisting moths. They are not resistant to European foul brood, 

 which is one of the worst brood diseases of bees. They are very excitable, 

 and run wildly about on the combs when the hive is opened. This, together 

 with the fact that the queen is not marked differently from the workers, 

 makes it very difficult to locate her on the frame. Their good points, how- 

 ever, are that they cap their honey white, making a very fine-looking product, 

 and are said to stand the winter well. The fact that they have been here 

 since 1638 would seem to bear out this point. 



The Caucasian bee varies in color, but closely resembles the black bee. 

 It is said that some of them show yellow bands on the abdomen somewhat 

 similar to the Italians, but most of them are dark gray with a metallic blue 

 cast in the drones. This race of bees has a great many good points. They 

 have not been in this country very long and hive not been tested as thor- 

 oughly as the black bees. They were introduced into New York in the year 

 1880. They are the gentlest race of bees known. They cap their honey 

 white, are good workers, defend their hives well against robbers, winter well, 

 and, generally speaking, are very desirable bees. The disadvantage of this 

 race of bees is that they use an abundance of propolis in their hives, some- 

 times almost closing entire entrances. In addition to their habit of propo- 

 lizing the hive, they use burr and brace combs lavishly. As they closely re- 

 semble the black bees in color, it is very hard to tell when they are purely 

 mated, and hybrids from this race are not as gentle as the pure bees. A 

 great many beekeepers are loud in their praise of the Caucasian race, and 

 it may come to find a more prominent place than it now occupies. 



The Carniolans, like the Caucasians, are very gentle bees; and like them 

 also, they have not been tested here long enough for us to know just how 

 valuable they are. These bees are dark colored, and when seen in a group 

 appear to have a bluish color. However, when examined closely this bluirh 

 color is accounted for by the fact that the wings are iridescent. The body 



H 

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