BEEKEEPING IN ARKANSAS 7 



to take honey from the cells and feed, but pollen apparently 

 must be fed to them by the workers. The workers realize that 

 the drones are a considerable drain on the colony, for whenever 

 the honey flow comes to a sudden decline, or in case of a fall in 

 temperature the drones are driven from the colony, so as to re- 

 duce the cost of living. Drones are not distinctly members of 

 a certain colony; they are allowed to enter any colony without 

 being molested by the guards, excepting, of course, during the 

 time when drones are being driven out by the workers. 



RACES OP BEES 



A number of different races have been tried out in the United 

 States, the more important among which are the Italian, Ger- 

 man, Caucasian, Oarniolan, and Cyprian. 



Italian. The name of the race indicates its origin. It is 

 the most popular race among American beekeepers. Various 

 strains of this race have been developed, which are designated by 

 various trade names. The typical Italians, commonly known as 

 three banded, are considered the most desirable for commercial 

 beekeeping. The Italian bees are preferred to all other races be- 

 cause they build few queen cells, keep the hive clean, and drive 

 out wax moths; they do not run on the combs, and they swarm 

 less than the Carniolans; they iare quite gentle, and are easily 

 subdued by smoke. Most important of their charactersitics is 

 the resistance to European foul brood. In this respect they are 

 vastly superior to the German or black bees. 



German. These are generally known as "black bees". They 

 are considered undesirable because they are less prolific than the 

 Italian, they do not keep the hive clean, and they swarm more 

 than the Italian. While they can be subdued with smoke, they 

 are much more difficult to handle than are the Italian. The 

 most undesirable feature of the German bees, however, is that 

 they succumb very readily to European foul brood. This dis- 

 ease when once introduced into an apiary of German bees is 

 very difficult to eradicate. 



Caucasian. The color of this race depends on the region 

 from which they come. The abdomen may be black or gray, or 

 it may have three yellow bands very similar to those of the Ital- 

 ians. The Caucasian are perhaps the most gentle bees of all 

 that have been tried out in America. They have, however, seri- 

 ous faults, on account of which most beekeepers who have tried 

 them have abandoned them. They bring in and use freely a 

 large amount of propolis (a sticky substance collected from the 

 resinous buds of various trees, notably poplar and sweet gum). 

 They also frequently build burr and brace combs. i, 



