Desciiptton of Apis Dorsata. 3g 



iste, the bees in question were not to bo found on that island. 

 Mr. Benton learned at great eost that this bee is rare in Java, 

 but eoinnuiu in tlio jungles ot" Ceylon, Hindoostan, Farther 

 India, Sumatra., Dorneo, and Timor. In Ceylon, ]Mr. Eenton 

 saw many eolouies, most of wliieh were in inaccessible places, 

 thougli he seeurei.1, after great labor and hardship, four colonies. 

 These bees iisually suspend their great combs, which are 

 often six feet long and four feet wide, to overhanging rocks, or 

 to horizontal branches of trees. In one case, Mr. Benton 

 found tlieui in the crevice of a rock, nearly surrounded by the 

 same. This indicates that they may be kept in hives. The 

 combs hang side by side as do those of our common bees, but 

 are one half inch apart. Mv. Benton found the tops of the 

 combs, which contain the honej^, from three to six inches thick, 

 while those where brood is reared are one and one half inches 

 thick. The drones and workers are all reared in the same cells, 

 ■which are about the size of the drone-brood cells of our honey- 

 comb. The worker bees, some specimens of which I have re- 

 ceived from Mr. Jones, in size and general appearance much 

 resemble our Italian queens. They have blue black wings, 

 black bodies, which are ringed very much as are our Italians, 

 only the yellow largely predominates. Mr. Benton writes me 

 that in form and style of flight they much resemble wasps. 

 They are the same size as the drones, varying from three-fourths 

 to seven-eighths of an inch in length. They are easily handled 

 by aid of smoke, and are very clumsy in their attempts to 

 sting. Their sting is no larger than that of our common bees, 

 while the pain from their sting, Mr. Benton says, is not so 

 great. The drones are dai'k brown, marked with yellow. 

 Strangely enough, they only fly, unless disturbed, after sun- 

 down. This is unfortunate, as with the same habits we might 

 hope to mate them with our common bees, and thus p)rocure a 

 valuable cross. This may be a developed peculiarity, to pro- 

 tect them from birds, and so might very likely disappear with 

 domestication. The queens are leather colored, and smaller, 

 as compared with the workers, than are our common queens. 

 The queens are more restless than are the workers while being 

 handled. While procuring these bees, Mr. Benton was 

 prostrated with a fever, and so the bees, during their long 

 voyage to Syria, were neglected. Strange to say, one colony 

 survived the long confinement, but perished soon after reach 



3 



