214 
Supplement  to  the  “ Tropical  Agriculturist.'' 
as  large  as  good  sized  peas,  and  eacli  forms  a 
group  of  its  own.  These  bees  are  said  to  some- 
times build  a tube  a foot  long  and  5 to  | 
inches  in  diameter,  composed  of  particles  of  wood 
glued  together  with  some  re.^^iuous  gum.  Through 
this  tul)e  the  bees  enter.  The  kana-veyiya,,  accord- 
ing to  Jayatilleke  iludaliyar,  produces  a .'^^mall 
quantity  of  honey  which  it  collects  in  tlie 
liollows  of  old  bees  and  crevices  of  rocks  or  dila- 
pidated buildings.  The  combs  do  not  yield  more 
than  a tea-cupful  of  honey  wliich  has  rather  an 
acid  taste  and  is  only  used  for  medicinal  purposes. 
The  combs  are  generally  about  4 or  5 inches  in 
circumference.  They  are  said  to  be  perfectly 
barmless  and  easily  handled.  Tliis  is  no  doubt 
the  same  bee  referred  to  by  Sir  Samuf“l  Baker  as 
little  smaller  than  a house-fly  and  building  in  the 
hollow  of  a tree"  where  the  entrance  to  his  man- 
sion is  a hole  no  larger  than  would  be  made  by  a 
lady’s  stiletto.”  The  honey.  Sir  Samuel  de.scribes 
as  “thick,  black,  and  rather  pungent  but  highly 
aromatic  molasses.” 
Of  the  genus  Apidae,  the  only  species  that  is  in 
any  way  cultivated,  is  tlie  mi-raes.sa,  the  common 
honeybee  of  C.jylon  which  is  too  well  known  to 
need  minute  description.  The  tollowiirg  is  the 
method  of  bee-keeping  in  vogue  among  the  nativi!o 
as  described  by  Mudaiiyar  Jayatilleke  in  the  paper 
he  read  before  the  C B.R.A.S.  some  years  ago:  — 
They  sweeten  the  pot  to  be  used  as  a hive  by 
fumigating  it  with  resin  and  islace  it  in  a cool 
elevated  position,  smearing  the  mouth  of  the  pot 
with  a little  honey  during  the  swarming  season. 
The  wild  bees  take  to  them  without  the  least 
trouble  and  begin  building  their  combs  and  lilling 
them.  When  the  proper  season  comes  round  the 
j)Ots  are  broken  and  blown  into  to  drive  out  the 
bees  and  all  the  honey  as  well  as  the  brood  combs 
abstracted.  Tlie  honey  is  of  course  retained  but 
he  c ombs  thrown  away  with  the  result  that  a 
great  waste  of  material  and  reckless  destruction 
of  bee-life  is  caused.  When  the  ne.’ct  swarming 
soa.son  comes  round,  which  is  between  March  and 
April,  a fresh  pot  is  set  up  in  the  manner  de.scribod 
and  in  the  same  position  for  the  ne.vt  supply  of 
honey  which  is  obtained  in  July  or  August.  The 
largest  supply  obtained  by  the  natives  in  this  way  is 
said  to  be  about  d or  4 bottles.  The  wild  bees 
build  in  the  ci’evices  and  hollows  of  rocks  and  trees, 
and  if  the  combs  are  not  abstracted  by  hunters  at 
the  proper  season,  they  them.-:elves  consume  the 
produce  and  abandon  the  empty  comb.s,  betaking 
tliemselres  to  the  woods.  It  is  firmly  believed 
by  the  natives  that  when  the  swarming  season 
comes  round  the  bees  return  to  their  old  haunts 
and  set  to  work  ag.ain. 
Tlie  Danduwel  (Apis  flove%)  is  called  by  Muda- 
iiyar Jayatilleke  an  unprofitable  bee  ju’oducirig 
very  little  honey.  It  attaches  its  .solitary  combs, 
in.  by  5 in.,  to  the  branch  of  a tree.  The  honey 
from  this  bee  is  esteemed  by  the  natives  as  being 
coot  and  nice,  but  the  .species  is  not  con.'idered 
to  bo  at  all  adapted  for  rearing  purposes,  as  its 
produce  is  very  .scanty. 
Mr.  Benton  mentions  that  ho  did  not  see  this  bee, 
but  that  a piece  of  its  broad  comb  which  ho  secured 
w'as  half  an  inch  tliick  and  showed  hexagonal 
wax  cells  eighty-one  to  the  sipiare  inch  of  worker 
comb,  while  tlie  drone  comb  had  twenty-live.  'I’lio 
workers, ho  concluded, mustthen  be  about  t he  size  of 
Apis  indica,  but  much  more  slender,  being  in  fact 
quite  wusp-Iiko  in  shape,  allliough  the  drones  are 
[Sept.  ],  1896. 
oil  doubt  quile  ns  large,  if  not  slightly  larger,  than 
those  of  Ajns  indica.  This  bee  is  said  to  build  a 
single  comb  wdiich  it  attaches  to  the  branch  of 
some  tree  or  to  the  horizontal  timber  of  a building. 
1 think,  says  Mr.  Benton,  that  under  favourable 
circiun.stances  it  will,  like  other  sptcies  of  the 
same  genus,  build  additional  combs  parallel  to 
the  first. 
It  wa.s  in  1881  that  Mr.  Benton  visited  Ceylon 
with  tile  object  of  studying  the  characters  of 
Ceylon  lioiiey  bees  and  securing  .<^tock.s  of  them, 
lie  declared  that  the  Bambara  (Apis  dovsata)  as 
“ the  most  wonderful  bee  in  the  world,’"  and 
recognised  in  it  a splendid  hoiiey-mnker.  Through 
the  help  of  Mudaiiyar  S.uuuel  Jayatilleke  of 
Kurunegala,  Mr.  Beuton  secured  the  stocks  which 
ho  was  in  need  of.  He  seemed  to  have  sati.sfied 
himself  that  the  Bambara  is  so  much  feared  by 
the  natives  of  Ceylon  owing  to  its  being  confused 
with  the  Debara  or  large  wasp,  but  that  if 
intelligently  managed  in  a manner  which  ac- 
cords with  its  peculiar  traits  it  will  be  found  to 
be  no  more  dangerous  than  the  other  species  of  the 
.same  genus. 
Ihe  f.ate  of  the  stocks  ( f bees  taken  away  by 
Mr.  Benton  from  Ceylon  is  narraced  in  a letter  writ- 
ten from  Cyprus  by  the  Apiarist  to  Mr.  John 
Jerguson  of  the  Ceylon  Observer,  where  Mr.  Benton 
states:  “Upon  my  arriv.al  in  Beyrout  the  large 
bee.s.  Apis  Dorsata  (Bambara)  were  still  alive 
having  withstood  their  long  hot  journey  wonder- 
fully well,  showing  great  tenacity  of  life,  so  great 
as  to  surprise  me.  The  bo.x  of  little  ones  Apis 
Jioreu  (Banduwel-messo)  were  also  in  good  orrier. 
1 had  fed  both  kinds  with  sugar  during  the 
journey.  In  Beyrout  both  were  permitted  to 
fly.  Ihe  large  bees  seemed  restless  even  when 
the  air  was  cool  towards  night,  and  many  came 
out  and  died,  while  the  small  ones  were  more 
prudent  and  only  flew  out  when  the  air  was  warm. 
As  a result  the  former  dwindled  away,  while  the 
latter  were  still  in  good  order  when  arriveil 
in  Cyprus  two  weeks  later.  But  an  accident 
hap])ened,  soon  after  my  arrival  here,  to  the 
queen  of  my  little  bees,  and  now  they  arc  no 
more.” 
It  is  curious  that  Mr.  Benton  should  have  taken 
away  with  him  a .stock  ot  yl,  Jlorea  (Ikinduwel ), 
toe  least  important  cf  Ceylon  bees,  as  he  himself 
has  stated,  and  not  of  A.  Indica  (.Me-messa)  the 
common  honey  bee  of  Ceylon,  wdiich  is  the  only 
one  at  all  cultivated.  Indeed,  the  Editor  of  the 
Ceylon  Observer  referring  to  .Mr.  Benton’s  visit 
writes  : (1)  Mr.  Benton returned  to  Colombo...  . 
with  some  colonies  of  Bambara  (.\pis  dor.sata) 
as  well  as  ot  the  small  A,  Indica,"  And  again 
(2)  “We  hope  to  hear  of  hi^  (Mr.  Benton'.s)  safe 
arrival  there  (in  Cyprirs),  and  also  of  the  safe 
arrival  ot  his  interiisting  charge,  wdiich  wdll  then 
]>robably  be  f.iie  first  introiliietion  of  the  A/>is 
Dorsata  and  A.  Indica  into  Eurojie ; " wdiile  in  a 
contribut ion  written  by  jMr.  Benton  to  an  Ameri- 
can Journal  ho  Inm.self  states  : “ 1 did  not  see  the 
bee  which  the  natives  call  by  this  name  (Uandu- 
wel-messo,  the  name  heading  the  paragraph). 
On  the  occasion  of  Mr.  Benton’s  visit  to  Ceylon  he 
introduced  some  Cyprian  bees  into  the  Island. 
These  bees  are  reiiorted  in  the  Tropical  Ayricul- 
fiiiisf  ot  .1  uiu',  l881,to  be  flourishing  weli  wdth 
Mr.  W.  II.  Wright  (at  the  Aviary,  Colombo,)  and 
JUudaliyar  Jayatilleke  (Kurunegala).  Mr.  Wright’s 
e.xpei'iments  were  not  attended  with  success,  lie 
