THE AUSTRALIAN BEEKEEPERS’ JOURNAL. 
who has lately visited many of the Italian 
apiaries, states that. “ It is well known that 
all the bees of the Italian race have not got 
the three yellow bands of the abdomen equally 
well marked, and that he has substantiated 
this on several occasions. He further says 
that at Ornavano, Golasecca, and at Milan, 
are colonies showing only two bands. At the 
Barton apiary in Milan, he saw, in 1881, drones 
as destitute of any yellow bands as any drones 
bred by our black bees. Out of Italy three 
yellow bands are considered an indispensable 
sign of purity, hence the reason why Italian 
breeders, while attaching no real value in 
work to the colour of the rings, endeavour to 
have no bees in their apiaries that will not 
show three bright yellow bands. The Italian 
queens which are in Australia are of two 
varieties — those whose queens are more or less 
wholly yellow or orange colour over the 
abdomen; and others which are blackish brown 
on the back, but dark orange colour on the 
under portion of the abdomen ; and others, 
again, which appear in some degree ringed 
with orange and blackish brown, all of 
whose progeny show the three orange or 
yellow bands distinctly, but the progeny of 
the first or orange queens are certainly of a 
brighter colour than the progeny of the latter. 
It is stated that the bright yellow ones are the 
North Italian, or true Alpine bee, while the 
other variety is from Southern Italy. A cross 
between a Cyprian and South Italian bee 
produces a very bright yellow bee, and the 
queens also are bright orange. 
It appears a difficult thing to decide what 
are the true characteristic markings and 
colour of pure Italians, and it now seems 
probable that the demand for yellow queens, 
and three yellowbands in the workers, 
has encouraged Italian apiarists to pro- 
duce such a strain, by management, to 
meet this demand. The true Ligurian may 
therefore differ considerably from what we 
consider the pure strain . there is this con- 
solation, however, that a first cross between 
what we know as Italians and our common 
black bee is better than either for hardiness, 
honey gathering and prolificness, and in many 
other points also. A great many Italian bees 
have now been established in Australia, but 
the majority of the young queens get crossed 
with blacks, and so” gradually approach the 
latter variety unless they are reared in isolated 
localities or among a large preponderance of 
Ligurian drones. Bees taken from trees in 
Victoria very frequently show a trace, and 
sometimes a strong one, of the Italian blood. 
But all those obtained from Tasmania last 
season, show no sign of this, and those taken 
wild from trees have three distinct grey bands, 
somewhat like the Carniolans, but smaller. 
QUERIES AND REPLIES. 
Queries. 
Query No. 16. a. I have some trellis work: 
what creeper should I plant on it for the 
benefit of my bees P 
b. I have about eighty feet of space along a 
fence : what would you advise me to plant 
there for my bees P 
c. Is the pepper tree any use as a bee plant ? 
— A. Perry. 
Query No. 17— On the bottom board of 
my hive I find a lot of small white grubs, 
in” the dust, dirt and fragments of wax which 
have collected there. What are these grubs, 
and do they do any harm? — Drouin. 
Replies to Queries. 
To No. 16. a. Creepers that bear flowers 
which the bees like most are not always the best 
for a trellis. The Wistaria is a favourite, and 
blossoms early. All Nasturtiums are good. 
Dolichlos blossoms nearly all the year round, 
and is often covered with bees. Ihe potato 
plant creeper (“ Boussingaultia Basselloides,”) 
is spoken well of by some beekeepers; it is a 
hardy, fast-growing creeper, and looks well. 
The orange-flowered Bignonia is useful for 
bees in Autumn, and makes a handsome trellis 
plant. 
b. This depends upon whether shrubs and 
trees, or merely herbaceous and annual plants, 
are wanted, if the latter, nothing is better 
than Borage, Horehoutul, Marjoram, common 
Thvme, &c. If shrubs and trees, Rock Rose, 
Veronicas, Callistemon (red bottle brush,) 
Loquat, Privet, Orange or Lemon trees are all 
good ; and if a hedge is required nothing is 
better than the African thorn (“ Lycium Hor- 
ridum,)” as it blossoms for a long time, and is 
much liked by bees. 
c. The pepper tree (“ Schinus Molle,”) when 
in blossom, is sometimes swarming with 
bees. 
To No. 17 — The white grubs are the larvae 
of the wax moth, which has been in the hive 
and deposited eggs. These grnbs may do a 
great deal of harm if they get in the combs, 
and do sometimes lead to the destruction or 
desertion of the colony. If it be a strong 
hive, they will probably be taken out by the 
bees before they do any harm ; but at all 
events the bottom board should be swept 
clear of all rubbish of this kind, and the 
combs examined to see that no grubs are 
burrowing among the cells. Bottom boards 
of weak hives should be cleaned frequently, 
and no debris allowed to collect. Ed. 
