288 RACES OF BEES. 
in the Fall of 1863 and 1864 Mr. Langstroth also imported 
queens from the same Apiary, but the first large successful 
importations were made by Adam Grimm of Wisconsin, in 
1867, from the Apiary of Prof. Mona of Bellinzona, and by 
us in 1874, from the Apiary of Signor Giuseppe Fiorini of 
Monselice, Italy. Since then, Mr. A. I. Root, and others, 
have succeeded well nearly every season. 
This valuable variety of the honey-bee is now extensively 
disseminated in North America. 
For directions on breeding and shipping Italian bees, see 
the chapters on Queen Raising (497) and Shipping Bees 
(587). 
559. The Egyptian bees (Apis fasciata) are smaller and 
brighter than the Italian bee. The hairs of their body are 
more whitish, and their motions are quick and fly-like. Their 
prolificness is great, but their ill-disposition has caused 
many who have tried them to abandon them. 
The Cyprian bees (a sub-race of Apis fasciata) were 
imported from Cyprus to Europe in 1872, and they were 
so much praised that, in 1880, two enterprising American 
Apiarists, Messrs. D. A. Jones and Frank Benton made a 
trip to Cyprus and the Holy Land, and brought bees from 
both countries to America. 
The Cyprian bees resemble the Italian bees. The main 
difference between them, in appearance, is a bright yellow 
shield on the thorax of the Cyprians not to be seen in the 
Italians, and the yellow rings of the former are brighter, 
of a copper color, especially under the abdomen. Their 
drones are beautiful. 
Their behavior is like that of the Egyptians; quick and 
ready, they promptly assail those who dare handle them. 
Smoke astonishes but does not subdue them. At each 
puff of the smoker (382), they emit a sharp, trilling 
sound, not easily forgotten, resembling that of ‘‘ meat in 
the frying pan,’”’ and as soon as the smoke disappears, they 
