LIGURIAN, OR ITALIAN BEES. 129 



quented the red clover more than the natives. I found 

 nine Italians to two natives on this plant (the two excep- 

 tions might have been black hybrids). This was im- 

 portant to me ; if the honey from white clover would 

 sustain 60 or 80 colonies, that from the red would sustain 

 nearly as many more, and I could keep double the number 

 in each yard." 



It has been asserted by several observers that they are 

 longer lived. We cannot, from our limited observation, 

 declare if this be so, but it would account for their swarm- 

 ing properties, which excel everything we have witnessed 

 in native bees. They swarm more, begin some two or 

 three weeks earlier, and continue later in the autumn. 

 This may arise, in some measure, from their vigorous 

 nature. Watch the hives some dull morning ; here are two 

 skeps, one containing pure Italians, the other black bees ; 

 the Italian whizzes past you with terrific force, whilst the 

 black bees seem to go lazily along, as if it was too much 

 trouble to go abroad on so dull a day. In rainy weather 

 the Ligurians are as active as possible, when the black bees 

 never stir out of the hives. 



One season our Italians began to swarm three weeks 

 before the others ; the first we hived came out on 20th 

 May, the second from the same hive oh 30th May. By 

 the 1 1 th July the same hive again sent out a very large 

 swarm. The first swarm, op. 20th May, again swarmed 

 on 7th July, a virgin swarm — very scarce with us, and 

 another on 20th July ; whilst the second swarm, hived 

 30th May, swarmed on igth July, making a total of six 

 swarms in one season ; four of them were sold in the 

 autumn for 8/. This same year, being a wretched honey 

 season, my black bees could scarcely live; out of five hives 

 we only obtained four swarms. 



As honey-gatherers they far excel the others, and, if the 

 bee-farmer do not keep the honey extractor constantly 



K 



