6 THE GENEALOGY OF THE BEE 



morial. Bumble-bees do secrete a certain amount 

 of wax, but it is cast into a very crude form, the 

 few cells made of it being merely stood upright 

 on the ground to form pots for the reception of 

 honey. 



There are several kinds of honey-bee found 

 throughout the world, but Apis Mellifica is 

 the most widely spread and commonest of all 

 the Apis. So widely is it distributed that it is 

 almost impossible to ascertain in which country 

 it first made its appearance. In Palestine it 

 is found wild, making its hives in rocks and 

 holes. The variety there found has a reputation 

 for viciousness, so that the Psalmist's " They 

 came about me like bees " has a more pregnant 

 meaning than would be associated with the 

 comparatively mild and inoffensive bees of Europe. 



In Italy a variety is found which has bright 

 yellow bands on its abdomen and whose tongue is 

 said to be longer than that of the northern form. 

 This variety has been frequently imported into 

 Britain, and among many beekeepers is regarded 

 as the best variety for honey-storing purposes. 

 In Carniola, again, there is a variety which has 

 silvery bands upon it and is thickly clothed with 

 silvery hair. This variety is exceedingly gentle, 

 and it is also the most prolific, the queens requiring 

 much more room in which to deposit their 

 eggs. 



The form found in Britain, and, indeed, 



