A^is Mellifica — German Bees. _.j 



been native to the American continent. The "large brown 

 bee" which some of our bee-keepers think native to Amer- 

 ica, is undoubtedly but a variety of the common black, or 

 German bee. Without doubt there were no bees of this 

 genus here till introduced by the Caucasian race. It seems 

 more strange, as we find that all the continents and islands 

 of the Eastern Hemisphere abound with representatives. 

 It is one moi'e illustration of the strange, inextricable puz- 

 zles connected with the geographical distribution of animals. 



SPECIES OF OUR HONEY-BEES. 



The bees at present domesticated are all of one species: 

 Apis mellifica. The character of this species will appear 

 in the next chapter, as we proceed with their anatomy and 

 physiology. As before stated, this species is native exclu- 

 sively to the Eastern Hemisphere, though it has been intro- 

 duced wherever civilized man has taken up his abode. 



RACES OF THE HONEY-BEE. 



German or Black Bees. 



The German or black bee is the race best kno\vn, a^ 

 through all the ages it has been most widely distributed. 

 The name German refers to locality, while the name black 

 is a misnomer, as the bee is a gray-black. Tiie queen, and, 

 in a less degree, the drones, are darker, while the legs and 

 under-surface of the former are brown, or copper colored, 

 and of the latter light-gray. The tongue of the black 

 worker I have found, by repeated dissections and compari- 

 sons made both by myself and by my pupils, is shorter than 

 that of the Italian worker, and generally less hairy. The 

 black bees have been known no longer than the Italians, 

 as we find the latter were known both to Aristotle, the 

 fourth century B. C, and to Virgil, the great Roman poet 

 who sung of the variegated golden bee, the first century 

 B. C; and we can only account for the wider distribution 

 of the German bee by considering the more vigorous push- 

 ing habits of the Germanic races, who not only over-ran and 

 infused life into Southern Europe, but have vitalized all 

 Christendom. 



