SPECIES AND VARIETIES OF SOCIAL BEES. 13 



the abdomen long and beautifully tapering towards the caudal 

 extremity. These yellow queens are very beautiful and have the 

 advantage of being more readily distinguished on the comb when 

 mixed with the workers than their darker compeers, an advantage 

 that should not be lost sight of, especially with those who have not 

 a very observant eye. The advantages that A. ligustica have over 

 A. mettifica may be summed up as follows: — The queens are ex- 

 tremely prolific, y and as soon as one brood emerges from the chrysalis 

 she is ready to refill the brood cells with enormous quantities pf 

 eggs. In this Bespect she greatly surpasses her black sister. It is 

 seldom one finds the brood comb of the latter regular. In the same 

 comb will be found eggs and larvae in various stages of development. 

 In the brood combs of the Italian bee these irregularities are very 

 rare, the brood in each comb will be as even as sealed honey, every 

 cell having its inmate in the same stage as its neighbours. They 

 recover from spring dwindling early in the season, and as the early 

 honey-bearing flowers expand they have a large army ready to 

 enter upon the labours of the field. The variety as a, rule is 

 possessed of a mild temper. Nevertheless I have seen the progeny 

 of some queens far more irritable than any black bee I ever 

 handled. A little smoke will easily subdue the Italian bee, and 

 they bear manipulating well. It is not an unusual thing to see 

 the bees at work while the comb is held in the hand, and occasions 

 have occurred of the queen depositing her eggs in the presence of 

 the observer. They adhere to the comb with greater tenacity than 

 the black bee; the latter can easily be removed by a sudden jerk, 

 whilst the Italian bee has nearly always to be brushed off. They 

 bear artificial swarming much earlier than our old friend the black 

 bee, and to an extent that would soon decimate if not entirely 

 annihilate the latter. They defend their stores with the courage 

 of a British tar, whilst that same attribute makes them marauders 

 and determined robbers of their weaker neighbours. A fairly 

 strong colony is proof against the wax moth. For industry, and as 

 honey gatherers, they have not as yet been surpassed. Mr. Radl- 

 kofer says "Not only are Italian bees distinguished by an earlier 

 awakened impulse to activity and labour but they are remarkable 

 also for the sedulous use they make of every opening flower, visiting 

 some on which common bees are seldom or never seen." 



Mora wits and Douglas say "The brighter coloured southern 

 bee of Italy is more suitable for hot climates," whilst IiE&igstroth 

 (speaking of the Italian be'es generally) says that "the Italian bees 

 are less sensitive to cold than the common kind" (black). * There 



