THE H0NJ5Y-BEE. 157 



Cuckoo-bees are non- colonial, and live as parasites on other bee- 

 nests. The Andrenas have no worker form ; for they also are 

 non-colonial, but nevertheless gregarious. 



Bombi, or Humble-bees, large, heavy, hairy species, are use- 

 ful as fertilisers of plants : without their aid red clover cannot 

 seed. In New Zealand red and other clovers were imported, 

 and sown as a forage crop ; but they never seeded until Bombi 

 were also imported. The long tongue is the active agent in 

 this cross-fertilisation. 



The Honey-bee and its Relations. 



Our Honey-bee is scientifically called Apis mellifica. It 

 belongs to the last genus of Aculeate Hymenoptera, namely Apis, 

 the species of which are characterised by the absence of tibial 

 spurs on the posterior legs, and by the presence of three cubical 

 cells. AU the members of this genus are permanently social. 

 There are several well-known species of Apis, as well as a great 

 number of local varieties of A. Tndlifica, which has been dis- 

 tributed over the earth by man. Our common honey-bee {A. 

 mellifica) is a native of Europe, Africa, and "Western Asia. 

 The German or Black bee and the Italian or Ligurian are the 

 best known. The former is greyish-black in colour, and covered 

 with tawny hairs. The queen and drones are darker, however, 

 than the workers. The legs and ventral surface of the abdo- 

 men in the queen are brown, and of the drone greyish-brown. 

 The Ligurian or Italian variety (fig. 69, a) comes from Northern 

 Italy ; it is also found in Naples. It is somewhat larger than 

 the true A. mellifica, from which it can be told at once by the 

 bright tawny yellow rings at the base of the abdomen, three in 

 number in aU pure-bred stock. The ventral surface of the 

 abdomen is also golden yellow except towards the tip, which is 

 black. The tongue is much longer than in the Black bee and 

 more hairy. The Ligurian queen and drone vary, some being 

 quite dark ; but the workers always show, when pure, the three 



