140 
DR. MlLLER J S 
Increase, Prevention of, (See Swarm Prevention.) 
Introducing (See Queen Introduction.) 
Italian Bees.— Q. Has Italy two kinds of Italian bees, the 
leather-colored and the golden; or are the goldens bred in this 
country by select leather-colored stock? 
A. In Italy there are the leather-colored and also a lighter 
kind, but I think no 5-banded or golden, which is an American 
affair, not at all always from the leather-colored kind. 
Q. How can I tell a pure-bred Italian queen? I notice all the 
queens I buy, and also the drones, vary in markings. 
A. The workers should not show less than three yellow bands. 
But you may find in a colony of pure Italians, black workers that 
have come from other hives. Look for the downy little chaps 
that are quite young; amongst them there should be none without 
three bands. 
Q. Are Italians the only bees having three yellow rings on the 
abdomen? Should the rings be wide or narrow? 
A. There are others having three such rings, as the Cyprians. 
It doesn’t matter about width of rings, the distance of one ring 
from another being the same in all cases. 
Q. Please distinguish between leather-colored Italians and 
other Italians. 
A. Leather-colored Italians are, as the name indicates, rather 
dark in color, the colored part being the color of sole-leather, as 
compared with other Italians of lighter color. 
Q. I would be glad to know what the difference is between 
the 3-banded and the golden Italian bees, and how are they ob- 
Also, are the 3-banded bees longer-tongued than the golden? 
I had goldens that worked on red clover, but I see they are 
always classed differently. 
A. The workers of bees imported from Italy have three yellow 
bands. Those that are called golden are obtained by breeding 
continuously from the yellow races, constantly selecting those 
showing most color. They are an American product. 
There is probably no difference as to length of tongue between 
the two classes. When bees work on red clover it may be because 
of longer tongues, and it may be because of shorter corollas in 
the blossoms. I have seen black bees working on red clover. 
Q. Which stock is best to order, the 3-band or 5-band? 
A. Some prefer those with more than three bands, but most 
