ITALIAN BEES. 79 
he had but one summer’s experience, but all the results 
and indications go to confirm Dzierzon’s statements, 
and satisfy him of the superiority of this kind in every 
point of vew. 6. That they are more disposed to rob 
than common bees, and more courageous and active in 
self-defence. They strive on all hands to force their 
way into colonies of common bees ; but when strange 
bees attack their hives, they fight with great fierceness, 
and with an incredible adroitness.” 
From Mr. F. A. Deus, and others : 
Mr. F. A. Deus, who with three other members of the 
German Apiarian Convention, held at Mayence, in 1856, in 
that year made a tour of France, Switzerland, and Italy, in 
search for and observations on Italian bees, in his re- 
port, as quoted in the American Bee Journal for Sept., 1861, 
p. 213, says : 
“ At the Villa di Negro, near the latter city (Genoa), the 
genuine Italian bee exists in all its beauty and perfec- 
tion. It was delightful to observe the celerity, agility 
and grace displayed in all their motions by the busy 
workers, as they rifled the flowers of their sweets. 
Their bodies were so slender and delicate, their colors 
so bright, and their markings so clear and distinct, as 
to surpass greatly any specimens of the race which had 
previously come under our notice. We caught a num- 
ber of them, and preserved them in alcohol for future 
comparison. * * * It is evident that the [Italian bee is not 
a mere climatic variety, but really a distinct race. We 
were repeatedly assured also that the common kind ouly 
was found in the Kingdom of Naples and in the warmer 
districts of Upper Italy. We chanced to fall in with a 
