THE honf:y-bee. 



177 



The German or Black bee and the Italian or Ligiirian are the 

 best known. The former is greyish-black in colour, and covered 

 with tawny hairs. The queen and drones are darker, however, 

 than the workers. The legs and ventral surface of the abdo- 

 men in the queen are brown, and of the drone greyish-brown. 

 The Ligurian or Italian variety (fig. 86, a) comes from Northern 

 Italy ; it is also found in Naples. It is somewhat larger than 

 the true A. mellifica, from which it can be told at once by the 

 bright tawny yellow rings at the base of the abdomen, three in 

 number in all pure-bred stock. The ventral surface of the 

 abdomen is also golden yellow except towards the tip, which is 

 black. The tongue is much longer than in the Black hee and 



Fig. 86. — Honey-bees. 

 A, Apis meUifica v. Liguriee ; b, A. mellifica ; c, A. dorsata. 



more hairy. The Ligurian queen and drone vary, some being 

 quite dark ; but the workers always show, when pure, the three 

 golden yellow bands on the abdomen. Besides these two there 

 are numerous other races of A. mellifica, such as the Carnio- 

 lan, said to be a very docile race ; the Himalaijan, a blackish- 

 brown variety with tawny hairs at the base of the abdomen, 

 but smaller than ours ; and the Maltese, yery similar to ours, but 

 also smaller. Two well-known types are the Syrian and Cyprian. 

 The former is banded with yellow and black, and much resembles 

 the Ligurian, but has more yellow on the venter : this race is 

 most prolific, and easily handled. The Cyprian may be told by 

 the bright leather-coloured lunule which tips the thorax posteri- 



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