RACES. 
623 
In the south of Africa, two species of Apis are 
found: Apis caffra^ black, with the base of the 
second segment of the abdomen dull red; and Apis 
scutellata, with the abdomen brown, and the base 
of the segments clothed with ash-coloured hairs. 
It is by no means clear what species of bee has been 
known amongst us as “ South African,^’ the only 
surviving specimens having been in the hands of 
Mr. Simmins, and, by his kindness, of myself (see 
page 346). The queen was probably hybrid, as the 
bees were differently marked, yet most jet black on 
the abdomen, with lines of white hairs ; so that they 
did not agree with either of the foregoing^ being 
probably in part mellijica. The South Africans, 
whatever they were in race, indicated that they 
were not likely to be an advantage in our climate. 
The queen bred vigorously, but the stock did not 
increase, for the simple reason that the young bees 
dispersed themselves in all directions, some hundreds 
being found sometimes in near-standing stocks; and, 
again, when the temperature is not quite high, they 
remain within, and gather nothing. Their disposition to 
throw fertile workers (page 355) into other colonies is a 
serious drawback, for the nuisance is frequently a fatal 
impediment to the raising of a queen from an inserted 
cell, and to the introduction of a virgin queen ; while, 
in their presence, stocks are rapidly brought to ruin. 
In equatorial Africa, in the Congo region, Apis 
nigritarum is found, with black antennae, carried upon 
a yellow tubercle ; black abdomen, grey down, with 
the first segment, and the base of the second, yellowish, 
the wings being transparent. 
