4 Kansas State Horticultural Society. 



of the Carniolans is more definitely gray than the Caucasians. These be. 

 are very prolific, the queen continuing to lay even after the honey flow h 

 ceased. On account of their prolificness they swarm excessively. They a 

 very good workers, cap their honey white, and pass the winter well. They < 

 not run about on the combs when the hive is opened as do the black bee 

 The most serious facts against them are that they swarm excessively and tbi 

 they resemble the black bee so closely that it is hard to tell when the mating 

 are pure. 



The most popular and most successful race of bees in this country is th 

 Italian. They combine a great many of the good points of the other race: 

 while many of the faults of the others are lacking to a very large extent i: 

 this popular race of bees. The typical color is for the abdomen to b 

 marked with three transverse yellow bands, and are usually spoken of a 

 being leather-colored Italians. The workers are the best indication as to th 

 purity of the race, as the drones and queens are apt to vary a great dea 

 in their color markings. The Italian bees do not cap their honey as whiti 

 as do the three first-named bees, nor are they as prolific as the Caucasian 

 and the Carniolans, but they are much more so than the German bees 

 They are ordinarily gentle, but even in this respect they do not equal th< 

 Caucasians or Carniolans. However, they are good workers. They defenc 

 their hives against robbers and against, moths. They are very resistant tt 

 European foul brood. In fact, whenever this disease occurs the treatment 

 recommended is to replace the queen in the diseased colony with an Italiar 

 queen. The Italian queen will cease brood rearing when there is a dearth 

 of nectar, which fact is often valuable, as she will stop producing bees that 

 ■will not take part in any of the work, but merely be consumers. The fact 

 that these bees winter well, are of such a good disposition, protect theii 

 hives from enemies, and especially that they are resistant to foul brood, 

 makes them the most satisfactory race of bees that we have in this country 

 and the ones to be recommended generally. 



The Goldens are Italian bees, which are distinguished by having five bright 

 yellow bands on the abdomen instead of three. These bees have a great 

 many characteristics of the regular Italian, and resemble them so closely that 

 it 'wouia be hard to distinguish them from the characteristics of the regular 

 threetbanded Italian bees. Reports as to their value vary, some reporting 

 that thdy •have' exceptionally good results from the use of these bees while 

 ^dme <ckim; that ' tJheir disposition is not pleasant and that they are not 

 good workers. Until these bees have been more thoroughly tested it will be 

 -well ' to Use 1 'the standard three-banded Italian bees. 



' The so-called hybrid' bee' may be a cross between any two races but in 

 this country it usually refers to i cross of the black and the I 2 It I 

 tte-oue most cbhimonly; found in the timber, box hives, or other' place 

 Where the- strain -has" beeiv allowed. to deteriorate. These are very var abk 

 m characters, bnf mostly they 'combite a- few bad traits of the others and 

 then add 1 a' few more bad ones Of their own • > ' 



, ,^ i ff kjXi ! ti ^ about' beekeeping i* that *he race of bees in anv 

 colony eta 'be' changed ' in a short time by killing tn'e ori*i™i „ I 



'mtroaucingWheh* the -desired Ktce. "Before iL th'en the T* 1 

 bedftli'esahife-raee'asthenewqueen' ■ ' ' '' g ', ^ the coloQ y Wl11 



