24 



MANUAL OF THE APIAEY. 



the Alps. Without much doubt they are a climatic variety, Avith characters of 

 coloratioDi and habits so inbred that they are a fixed race. It may be, as has 

 been asserted, that the original stock was a cross between the black and the Egyp- 

 tian races. The queen varies much in color. She may be almost entirely yel- 

 low, is rarely almost as black as the German queen, but is generally irregularly 

 marked with black and yellow. The drones are also black, aunulated, or spot- 

 ted with yellow, while the neuters will without exception, if the stock is pure, 

 possess three yellow bands about the base of the abdomen. I repeat, every bee in 

 the colony must be thus marked. The first ring is close to the thorax, and 

 very narrow. The second is quite broad. These two rings are usually quite 

 distinct in hybrids. The third ring is narrower, and may be obscured in old 

 bees, especially if not distended with honey. AVhen this ring is absent in any of 

 the bees there is "something rotten in Denmark." 



The able agricultural editor of one of our leading State papers has unwisely 

 invaded tlie apiary in one or two editorials ; and, wise beyond what is written, 

 has stated that the Italians were in no wise supierior to the black bees ; and, fur- 

 ther, that this point was conceded by all disinterested apiarists. He might as 

 well say that a Duchess among Short-horns was in no wise superior to the lean, 

 bouy kine of Texas ; or that our Essex and Berkshire swine are no whit better 

 than the cadaverous lank breeds, with infinite noses, that happily are now so 

 rare among us. The Italians are far superior to the German bees in many 

 respects, and more, — though I am acquainted with all the works on apiculture 

 printed in our language, and have an extensive acquaintance with the leading 

 apiarists of our country from Maine to California, yet I know of only one man 

 who holds that the Italians are no better than the Germans, and he is proverbial 

 for opposing any and every thing which any other person may present. I have 

 yet to conceive how so able, careful, and conscientious a writer coirld have been 

 so misled as to make so glaring and mischievous an error. 



Fig. 12. 



Italian worker's mouth parts; a, tongue; b, labial ralpi; c, mandibles; d, parariossse A black 

 worker tee's tongue compared with this ironld reacli only to a by accurate measurement. 



