THE ITALIAN BEB. 285 



"The first three abdominiil rings (dg. 95 ) of the worker 

 bee are transparent, and vary from a dark straw or golden 

 color to the deep yellow of ochre. Those rings have a nar- 

 row dark edge or border, so that the yellow, which is some- 

 times called leather color, constitutes the ground, and is 

 seemingly barred over by these black 

 edges. This is most distinctly percepti- 

 ble when a brood-comb, on which bees 

 are densely crowded, is taken out of a 

 hive, or when a bee is put on a window. 

 When the bee is full of honey these 

 lings extend and slide out of one another, 

 and the yellow bands show to better 

 advantage, especially if the honey eaten 

 is of a light color. On the contrary, dur- 

 ing a dearth of honey, the rings are 

 drawn up, or telescoped in one another, 

 and the bee hardly looks like the same ^^' 



. ™, . T -i 1 n ABDOMEN OF THE 



insect. Imspeculiarity has annoyed ma- Italian eeb. 



ny bee-keepers, who imagined their beau- From A. I. Eoot. 

 tiful bees had suddenly become hybrids. 



In doubtful cases, as the purity of Italian bees is very 

 important, it is well to follow the advice of A. I. Root : -If 

 you are undecided in regard to your bees' purity, get some 

 of the bees and feed them all the honey they can take ; now 

 put them on a window, and if the band C (fig. 95) is not 

 plainly visible, call them hybrids." ("'A. B. C. page 145). 



554. Aside from this test, their tenacity and quietness 

 on the comb, while handled (378), are infallible signs of 

 puiity. We have repeatedly carried a frame of brood cov- 

 ered with pure Itahan bees, from a hive to the house, and 

 passed the comb from hand to hand among visitors, some 

 of whom were ladies, without a single bee dropping off, 

 or attempting to sting. 



555. The drones (185) and the queens are very irregu- 



