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 mellifiea, 
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 Linnzeus), 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 
