38 AUSTRALASIAN 



honey in the hilly districts both in the north and south of 

 India. Mr. Morgan, Deputy Conservator of Forests, reports 

 that " only one kind of bee, the Apis indica, is capable of 

 domestication, and that only in hilly districts, not in the 

 plains." The larger sort of bees, which they call " large cliff 

 Dees " (building in cliffs, under projecting ledges of rock) are 

 represented as so ferocious in habit, and furnished with such 

 formidable stings, as to be dangerous to both men and beasts 

 coming within their neighbourhood. A circumstantial account 

 of a bad case of stinging by these bees appeared in a recent 

 issue of the American Bee Journal, taken from the London 

 Lancet, which called forth the following editorial remarks : 

 " "We do not think we want any of these bees in America. The 

 Cyprians are bad enough ; but for these bees of India (Apis 

 indica), as well as their more irascible cousins (Apis dorsata), 

 we have no use. Let them stay where they are." Mr. John 

 Douglas, of the Indian Telegraph Department, says, "A swarm 

 of these bees has been known to put a regiment of cavalry to 

 flight, and innumerable are the instances in which man and 

 beast have fallen victims to their unrelenting animosity; " yet 

 he proposes the domestication of this " great tiger honey fly " 

 (as it is called in parts of the country) as the " first question 

 for Indian apiculturists !" Mr. Benton has been making efforts 

 to import the Apis dorsata from Ceylon ; but if they are not 

 very different in disposition from the Apis indica, we in Aus- 

 tralasia may echo the words of the American Bee Journal, 

 " Let them stay where they are ! " 



NATIVE BEES OF NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIA. 



Notwithstanding the assertion of Dr. Gerstaecker, there are 

 indigenous bees both in New Zealand and Australia. The 

 small bees indigenous to New Zealand, I believe, belong to the 

 species Apis tregona. It makes its nest in the ground, by boring 

 a small hole from the surface, about two inches in depth; holes 

 then branch off in different directions : these branch holes ex- 

 tend two or three inches, and at the bottom of each is deposited 

 a mixture of honey and pollen, in which the eggs are laid. I 

 dug up several nests last season, and found brood in different 

 stages, but there only appeared to have been one egg deposited 

 in each compartment. It is of no service to the apiarist. 



