26 AUSTRALASIAN 



northern coast of Africa being their supposed boundary on the 

 south, and the coast of Asia Minor on the east. When Dr. 

 Gerstaecker, however, undertook his investigations, he obtained 

 samples of a large number of varieties mentioned in the works 

 of Fabricius, Latreille, Lepeletier, and others, as being found 

 in various parts of Africa and of Asia, north of the Himalayas, 

 and subjected them to a minute examination, comparatively, 

 with each other, and with the two varieties already known in 

 Europe. He soon satisfied himself beyond all doubt that they 

 were all merely varieties of the one species, the Apis mellifica, 

 differing only in colour and size — all capable of being cross-bred, 

 and of being utilised by the apiarist. He also found that this 

 one species, represented by many different varieties, was spread 

 over a vastly larger area than had been supposed, comprising 

 nearly the whole of Europe (up to 60° or even 64° north lati- 

 tude in some places), the whole continent of Africa, and the 

 whole of Asia Minor, Syria, Persia, and other portions of Asia 

 north of the Himalayan range, up to eastern Siberia and 

 China. 



Out of the numerous varieties brought under review, six 

 have been selected as being of sufficient importance to be sepa- 

 rately dealt with. These, with their distinguishing marks and 

 the regions to which they seem particularly to belong, are 

 classified and described as follows : — 



1. The single coloured, dark, northern, or German bee (Apis 

 mellifica of Linnaeus), found in the whole of north and middle 

 Europe, and also in the south of France, south of Spain, Por- 

 tugal, a few parts of Italy, in Dalmatia, Greece, at the Crimea, 

 and along the coast of Asia Minor, including the adjacent 

 islands. It is also found on the African continent, at Algiers, 

 Guinea, and at the Cape of Good Hope, to which latter place, 

 however, it was probably introduced direct from Europe. As a 

 very slight sub-variety of the same may be noted the Hymettus 

 bee (Apis cecropia), differing only in being slightly smaller and 

 more hairy, often also showing reddish spots on the sides of 

 the second abdominal ring. This bee is found in the south of 

 Spain, as well as in Greece, and even, in some isolated cases, 

 in Germany. 



2. The Italian bee (Apis ligustica of Spinola), of equal size 

 with the German bee, but with golden yellow colour on the 

 first three abdominal rings, whilst the back plate (of the 



