Races of Bees 195 



pointed and the cells of the comb are also said to be some- 

 what smaller. The first three segments of the abdomen are 

 light yellow to reddish yellow with black border, being 

 brighter than Italians. The abdomen is covered with grayish 

 white hairs. The abdomen of the queen is marked with 

 reddish brown on the first segment and the color areas are 

 variable. Queens and drones are small and the queens are pro- 

 lific. These bees sting furiously and are not subdued by smoke. 

 They do not, according to v. Buttel-Reepen, form a winter 

 cluster and therefore cannot withstand cold weather. Drones 

 are reared in large numbers; the cappings are "watery" ; ^ 

 the queen cells are small, very numerous, clustered and 

 smooth. Fertile workers are abundant and are said to be 

 present even when there is a laying queen. These bees were 

 introduced into Germany in 1864 and to England and 

 America in 1867. Here they attracted considerable atten- 

 tion but were promptly abandoned as worthless. 



Syrian. 



There are two races of bees in Palestine, one of which is, 

 according to v. Buttel-Reepen, identical with the Egyptian. 

 The other is known among American beekeepers as the 

 Holy Land bees. The Syrians are larger than the Egyptians 

 and in color they resemble Italians. These bees swarm 

 excessively, build many queen cells and winter poorly. 

 Many virgin queens go with after swarms and do not kill 

 each other until one is mated. Young queens lay drone 

 eggs in the first month. These bees were introduced into 

 America in 1880 by Jones and Benton but were soon aban- 

 doned as valueless. They were introduced by Hopkins 

 into New Zealand in 1883. 



multiplied rapidly and were soon found in the woods. It was formerly a 

 common saying that a swarm always flies westward (to new territory). 

 1 Some races of bees fill their honey cells more completely than others 

 and when the honey is in contact with the capping it gives the honey an 

 appearance that is described as watery. When the capping is separated 

 from the honey by an air space the capping appears white (or yellow, de- 

 pending on the color of the wax). In general the black races seem to 

 produce whiter comb cappings than more yellow bees. 



