48 



[Jan. 1908. 



LIVE STOCK. 



Indian Bees. 



(An Abstract of an Article entitled Les Abeilles du sud de L'inde, 

 contributed by J. Castets, S.J., to the Revue des Questions Scientifiques, Bruxelles, 

 October, 1893.) 



The author, stationed at Trichinopcly, first pupil and subsequently professor 

 in the Jesuits' College of that place, through the kindness of M. M. Oberthur, the well- 

 known Entomologist, has been able to open a local museum as the result of observa- 

 tions made in the course of excursions to the hills from a villa on an arm of the 

 Cauvery. One day, in May, 1889, at the height of the hot weather a terrible buzzing 

 was heard, which proved to be from a huge swarm of bees that had invaded the single 

 enormous hall of the ground floor of this villa; a swarm in comparison with which the 

 biggest swarms of Apis Mellifica or even several such swarms joined together, would 

 be insignificant. The swarm hung from a beam; forming a bunch about a metre in 

 diameter and 20 centimetres thick. Scarcely two hours after a similar swarm 

 settled on the next beam. This resulted in a deadly fight, and in the defeat and flight 

 of the first swarm, which however left a comb as big as one's hand. From this 

 started the author's interest in bees in spite of the aggressive character they had 

 shown. The bees took no notice so long as no one disturbed them, and people could go 

 and come into the room as if nothing were there. In two and a half months an enor- 

 mous comb was built with large honey cells projecting on two sides. The author 

 tried to have the bees kept there, but was obliged to see to their removal. His ori- 

 ginal intention was to obtain a comb entire with all its cells and specimens of the 

 drones, queen and workers. A box was made 1| metres long, almost as deep and about 

 30 centimetres broad, with two large openings at the bottom and several holes in the 

 middle, the latter to receive the strong pegs which were to support the combs. By 

 means of this the whole was successfully removed, but through the heat and jolting 

 of the journey a part of the mass gave way and two-thirds of the bees were drowned 

 in the honey. The author now determined not to wait for bees but to go and search 

 for them. The result of expeditions proved that there are four kinds of bees in the 

 district. Apis indica, Apis dorsata (the subject of the first experiment), Apis Jlorea or 

 Socialis and one small Trigonalid (parasitic bee; Trigona iridipennis. The author could 

 learn nothing further from books except these names.^a little about how bees work and 

 a few details about Apis indica. It was possible, nevertheless, to make observations, 

 as the swarms could be found everywhere, often in exposed Jplaces. | Apis indica holds 

 the first rank, not on account of its size but on account of its resemblance .to the 

 European bee. The author inclines to the opinion that the Indian bee is the parent 

 stock from which Apia mellifica comes. In spite of this, hitherto (up to 1893) no one has 

 taken any notice of this bee in spite of its universality in India and of its adaptability 

 to every variety of climate to be found in this country. It varies with climatic con- 

 ditions, which is its most interesting point. Thus a specimen of Apis indica sent from 

 Ceylon and probably caught on the highlands near Kandy ^has been described as Apis 

 Peroni, though it is evident on examination that it is only a local variety resembling 

 the bees found at Timor, an island in Malay Archipelago. The author even thinks 

 that the following bees are only variations of the same .breed, viz., A. mellifica, 

 indica, fasciata, Adansoni and perhaps rufescens. The easiness of crossing the second 

 and third varieties with Apis mellifica and the marked fusion of characteristics 

 confirm this view. The bee of the plains may be described as follows :— Length of 

 workers 11*5 millimetres. Abdomen banded alternately with light yellow ochre and 

 brown ochre, darkening more and more towards the extremity, general tint a little 



