110 
THE AUSTRALIAN BEEKEEPERS’ JOURNAL. 
house. Mr. Lloyd, who was assisting, exclaim- 
ed as he lifted one of the frames “why here’s 
the queen,” she had evidently got through 
the zinc honey-board soon after hatching and 
was by reason of her increasing size unable to 
get back and hence the unsettled state of the 
bees and their clustering outside. 
The queen was at once caged and taken to 
the hive and released at the entrance ; instead 
of entering she flew away, watch was kept at 
the entrance expecting her to return, but she 
did not do so, and it was feared she was lost. 
I suggested however, looking again in the 
super where she was found quietly feeding on 
one of the frames. In trying to cage her, she 
again took wing and got away through a 
partly open window in the beehouse, but was 
immediately afterwards found in the super in 
the shed which was at some distance from the 
window through which she escaped. This 
time super and frames, with the queen were 
taken and replaced on the hive after remov- 
ing the zinc honey-board. The bees at 
once quieted down and went to work. The 
interesting points in connection with this 
experience are — 
1st It is possible for a young queen to be 
trapped in a super with a ziuc excluding 
honey-board, but whether before fertilisation 
in this case or not cannot well be ascertained. 
2nd. How did this young queen find her way 
back to the super in the shed, when she was 
released from her cage at the hive entrance a 
hundred yards distant ; and again, how did she 
find her way back again a second time when she 
•escaped through the beehouse window. She 
was strange to both localities, but w'as 
taken from the super in the shed each time on 
a comb into the beehouse for caging. The 
puzzle is, by what knowledge or instinct did 
she get back to the super each time ? This is 
somewhat at variance with accepted theories. 
Correspondence. 
CYPRIANS OR ITALIANS. 
About four years ago I made tlie statement 
in the Australian Press that the time was not 
far. when, besides Italian bees, many others 
will be named and prized as the best, although 
nothing else be known about them but their 
name. This time has already arrived. Car- 
niolians were the first lot, and how they were 
prized ! Now we hear no more about them. 
Cyprians came next, but as there appears a 
probability of their reputation going the 
same way as the Carniolions, there just comes 
an account from Mr. Benton : Cyprians — -ne 
plus ultra. The right cannot be denied to Mr. 
Benton to believe the Cyprians the best bees, 
but by far the greatest majority of beemasters 
give this place to the Italians, and it requires 
better proofs than hitherto obtained from the 
Cyprians to make them believe in the latter 
as they do in the Italians. Cyprians have 
been tried by many able beemasters, hut they 
could not secure the estimation which the 
Italians rapidly gained in every country. We 
have no Cyprians here, and the few queens 
that were ordered some time ago by a gentle- 
man from this district died before they reached 
the ocean, and I felt thankful when reading 
of this. “Woe betide the luckless Italian or 
German (common black) colony that Cyprians 
take it into their heads to rob ! ”* Good 
Gracious ! I hope the number of Cyprians in 
Australia is very, very small. 1 pity those 
! who keep a Cyprian colony amongst a number 
of Italians or Blacks, as there is no telling 
when the former will take it into their heads 
to rob, and when they do, look out for mischief. 
If Mr. Benton would state his proofs (not by 
the thousand though) in the Eiclistiidler 
Hienenzeitung , German beemasters couldreply, 
and explain the faults they have found in this 
race of bees. 
W. Abeam, Manager, 
Italian Bee Co., Parramatta. 
Hfcmtisements. 
CHEAP LANGSTROTH FRAME HIVES. 
A CHANCE. 
wish to Realise on our Stock of 
CO First-class, New Pattern 
LANGSTROTH BEEHIVES 
At Under Cost Prices. 
.A.. HA3STSE3ST Go., 
29 FLINDERS STREET W. 
^cchcccpcrs ^ttppln (To., 
18 FI.ANiiI.IN ST., 
L. T. CHAVBERS, Manager. 
“ Langstroth,” “ Heddon,” * Alley,” or any 
other style of Hive in stock or made to order. 
Foundation Honey Extractors, Solar Ex- 
tractors, Section Boxes, and all the requisites 
of the Apiary. 
Bees. Queens, Brood, Eggs, supplied in any 
quantities. 
