BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
All the honeybees known by different names, such as Italians, Blacks, Carniolans, etc., are now regarded as varieties of one species, _Apis mellifera_. The differences are such as naturally result from being bred for long periods of time in particular environments. Each variety has adapted itself to the particular conditions under which it lived until it is, very probably, better adapted to that particular condition, by natural selection, than any other race or variety would be. Since none of the honeybees are native to America, it can only be determined by trial which of the varieties is best suited to our conditions. The Blacks or German bees were first introduced into this country, and were very generally acclimated in all parts of the United States, before any other race was introduced. As in many localities others have since been introduced, a multitude of crosses, commonly spoken of as hybrids, have resulted. In localities where no particular attention is paid to the breeding of bees a new variety which might well be called the American bee is being developed, as a result of these crosses and the natural adaptation to a new environment. The term "hybrid" is usually used to designate any bee which is not pure, of one race or another. It is quite probable that time will demonstrate that the race which is best suited to the conditions of California is not the best for New York or Minnesota. Up to the present time, the Italians are the only ones which have been given an extended trial in all parts of the country, except the blacks, which were the first to be introduced. There is still room for extensive experiments in comparative tests of the races under the various conditions of different sections of America.
## Black or German Bees.1
Footnote 1: According to the quotations from the American Bee Journal, common bees were imported into Florida, by the Spaniards, previous to 1763, for they were first noticed in West Florida in that year. They appeared in Kentucky in 1780, in New York in 1793, and west of the Mississippi in 1792."Dadant, _Langstroh on the Honey Bee_.
Black bees are very generally supposed to have been first introduced into America from Germany but very probably they came first from Spain. The native black bees of Great Britain, France, Germany and Spain are said to vary but little. The ground color of the whole body is black with the bands of whitish hairs on the abdomen very narrow and inconspicuous. F. W. L. Sladen, who was at one time extensively engaged in queen rearing in England, says that "In the cool and windy summer climate of the British Isles it is unsurpassed by any other pure race for industry in honey gathering, working early and late."
The blacks are easy to shake off their combs, and cap the comb honey very white, making an attractive product. Since extracted honey is coming more and more into favor, the matter of white capping is of constantly diminishing importance. One of the worst objections to the blacks is their excitable nature. When the hive is opened they run about nervously, and often boil out over the top in a most disconcerting manner. The queens are difficult to find, because of the fact that instead of remaining quietly on the comb attending to business, they run with the workers and often hide. They do not gather as much surplus on the average as Italians, under American conditions, are more inclined to be cross, and are more susceptible to brood diseases. It is a difficult matter to save an apiary of black bees, once they become infected with European full-brood. In comparison with Italians, the latter have proven so much better that there is a very general tendency to replace the blacks with Italians and in many limited neighborhoods where bekeeping is scientifically followed, the blacks have disappeared.
### The Cyprian Bee.
The Cyprian bees are in many respects similar to Italians. The pure Cyprians are said to be yellow on the sides and under parts of the abdomen, as well as having the three yellow bands as do the Italians, but the tip is very black. They are somewhat smaller than the Italians, and somewhat more slender and wasplike in appearance. According to Alley, "The posterior rings of the bodies of the workers are broader than those of the Italian, and, when examined, it will be noticed that the upper portion is partially black, terminating on the sides in a perfect half moon, generally two. It will also be observed that there is no intermingling of color. With pure Cyprian bees this is an invariable and uniform marking." They also have a golden shield between the wings.
The queens are extremely prolific, but the workers are very cross and not easily subdued by smoke. After extended trial in America, they have found few friends because of this characteristic. The American beekeeper demands gentle bees. Aside from the revengeful disposition, they have many good qualities. They are said to be long lived, to build less drone comb than other races, to fly farther for stores and to be extremely hardy, wintering well. They continue breeding late in fall, and are not inclined to dwindle in spring. They build many queen cells in preparation for swarming, sometimes as many as a hundred. They defend their stores readily against robbers, and are strong and swift on the wing.
These bees are native to the Island of Cyprus, and were first introduced into this country from Europe. The first direct importation was probably that by D. A. Jones of Ontario, in 1880. It is not probable that pure stock can now be found in this country. It is thought that some strains of the golden Italians have been mixed with Cypians in developing the bright yellow color.
**The Holy-Land Bees, or Syrians.**
The Holy-land bees are very similar to the Cypians in appearance, having the golden shield on the thorax, but they show whiter fuzz rings than either Cypians or Italians. They were introduced into this country by D. A. Jones at the same time as the Cypians. These bees are native to Palestine, and are said to be common in the vicinity of Bethlehem, Jerusalem and other Bible cities. While they attracted much attention for a short time following their introduction, they were shortly abandoned and are no longer offered for sale in America, as far as the writer can ascertain. They are said to swarm excessively and to winter poorly, as well as to propolize badly.
THE ALBINOS, formerly popular, are probably of Holy-land origin, mixed with Italian, according to Root. The Albino resembles the Italian in appearance except that the fuzz rings on the abdomen are bright grey or white. Root reports them as decidedly inferior as honey gatherers.
The Italian bee is by far the most popular race in America. It has been tried under all kinds of conditions in all parts of the country with satisfactory results. It is resistant to wax moth and European foulbrood, a good honey gatherer and gentler than the black race which preceded it.
This race was first introduced into this country from Italy.
The story of the first importations is told by Mr. Richard Colvin of Baltimore, in the Report of the Secretary of the U. S. Department of Agriculture for 1863, as follows:
The first attempt to import the Italian honey-bee into the United States, it is believed, was made about the year 1855 by Messrs. Samuel Wagner and Edward Jessup, of York, Pennsylvania; but in consequence of inadequate provision for their safety on so long a voyage, they perished before their arrival.
In the winter of 1858-59 another attempt was made by Mr. Wagner, Rev. L. L. Langstroth and myself. The order was placed in the hands of the surgeon of the steamer (to whose charge the bees were to have been committed on the return voyage), with instructions to transmit it to Mr. Dzieron on reaching Liverpool; but in consequence of his determining to leave the ship to engage in other service on his arrival at Bremen, it was not done and the effort failed. Subsequently arrangements were made by which, in the latter part of that year, we received seven living queens. At the same time, and on board the same steamer, Mr. P. J. Mahan, of Philadelphia, brought one or more queens, which were supposed to be of doubtful purity. Only two or three young queens were reared by us during that fall and winter, and in the following spring we found all our imported stock had perished.
In conjunction with Mr. Wagner I determined to make another trial, and another order was immediately dispatched. The queens, however, did not arrive until the following June. Meantime, about the month of May, Mr. S. B. Parsons, of Flushing, Long Island, received an importation of them from the northern part of Italy, some of the progeny of which he placed in the hands of the Rev. L. L. Langstroth, Mr. W. W. Carey, Mr. M. Quinby, and other skilful apiarians, who with Mr. C. W. Rose, a subsequent importer, and perhaps some others, have bred and disseminated them pretty widely through our country."
There was much interest in the new race, and, for a long time, queens commanded from ten to twenty dollars each in some cases. The late Charles Dadant was one of the early breeders, who imported stock from Italy direct.
The Italian has been bred in America on such an extensive scale that various strains have been developed. The so-called three banded or leather colored Italians are probably more nearly typical than the goldens or five banded Italians. The Italian bee from northern Italy has three yellow bands, with pronounced bands of whitish or grey hair on each of the segments except the first and the last. It is a mild tempered bee, usually being gentle and quiet under manipulation. Unlike the blacks these bees cling closely to their combs, and the queen will often continue her egg laying when the comb on which she is working is removed from the hive and held up to the light.
It is a prolific race, and stands extremes of temperature very well. It winters well and is not adversely affected by the heat of the dry summers of the central west. The beekeeper who does not care to experiment will do well to stick to the Italians, at least until other races have been given more extended tests than have so far been given. While there are a few warm advocates of Caucasians and Carniolans, by far the greater number of practical beekeepers contend that the Italians are the best race. It is only fair to state, however, that no other race has been given the same opportunity to demonstrate its good points, and it is altogether probable that some other race may yet prove best adapted for certain climatic conditions.
THE GOLDENS, are the result of special breeding by selecting the queens whose progeny show the brightest color. It is thought that some strains of goldens are somewhat mixed with the Cyprians, from which ancestry came the bright color. Some breeders have paid so much attention to selecting the brightest colored individuals, regardless of other traits, that some strains are unduly cross, are poor honey gatherers and are not considered hardy. On the other hand there are strains which have been selected with due care to retain other desirable traits along with the bright color, which are gentle and productive.
**Carniolans.**
The Carniolans resemble the blacks but are larger, the abdomens are of a more bluish cast and the abdominal rings are more distinct. They have the reputation of being excessive swarmers, although the queens are extremely prolific. They are a gentle race and reported to be good honey gatherers, and to stand extremely cold winters. Because of their excessive swarming tendency, they are not popular with American beekeepers, but the dark color is sufficient in itself to condemn them with many who admire the bright colored bees.
It is important that they be given a fair trial in northern sections, with a hive adapted to discourage swarming, by giving plenty of room for the extremely prolific queens. The Dadanthive or Langstroth frames of jumbo depth are best suited for this purpose of any hive in the market. Since they winter well and the colonies are inclined to be populous, it would seem that they should be especially adapted to extracted honey production in colder latitudes, if the swarming tendency can be overcome.
This race is native to the province of Carniola, Austria, and was first brought to this country in the eighties. It is said that there is much variation in the markings of the bees in the province from which they came. They deposit very little propolis, and are quiet on the combs during manipulation, two desirable traits.
**Caucasians.**
The Caucasians greatly resemble the blacks in appearance, but they are very different in disposition. They are said to be the gentlest race of bees known. The most serious objection to them is the fact that they deposit propolis freely, being the opposite of Carniolans in this respect. They swarm freely and build quantities of burr and brace combs, which is a source of annoyance to the beekeeper. They have many desirable traits, wintering well, capping their honey white and not being inclined to drift into the hives of other colonies than their own. Since they resemble the blacks so closely, it is next to impossible to tell whether or not they are pure, which is a serious drawback to the careful breeder. A few who have tried them extensively are warm in their praises of the Caucasians and contend that they are superior to the Italians. While this may be doubted, they are worthy of a more general trial than they have so far received. A few breeders now offer quecns for sale.
**Banat Bees.**
The Banats come from Hungary and greatly resemble the Carniolans. Some contend that they are not distinct. They are very gentle, dark in color and very prolific. They build up rapidly in spring and are said to be less inclined to swarm than the Carniolans.
Mr. T. W. Livingstone of Leslie, Georgia, had Banats, exclusively, in his apiaries and regarded them highly. He reported them as very gentle, building up early in spring and rearing brood all season.
### Tunisian or Punic Bees.
This is a black race coming from the north coast of Africa. Although given a trial in America they did not meet with favor and none are now present in this country so far as known. They are bad propolizers, extremely cross, and do not winter well. They seem to have been lately given a trial in Scotland. Mr. John Anderson of the North Scotland College of Agriculture, writing in the Irish Bee Journal, October, 1917, says of them that they have some very desirable characteristics, and some that are inconvenient. He mentions the case of a beekeeper who depends solely on honey production for a livelihood (which is unusual in Great Britain), who increased forty colonies to four hundred and harvested two-and-one-half tons of honey in one season without feeding any sugar. Mr. Anderson regards the Punic bee as worthy of more attention than it has received.
### Egyptians.
Bees have been kept in a primitive way for centuries in Egypt. The Egyptian bees resemble Italians in color, with an additional coat of white hairs. They are said to breed purely and not be inclined to mate with other races. They are somewhat smaller than the European races, and build somewhat smaller cells in their combs. They are reported to be cross and not easily subdued by smoke. Since they do not form a winter cluster, they are not fitted to withstand severe weather. They are said to rear large numbers of drones, and to develop fertile workers in abundance. They are not likely to prove of any value in America. In fact, they were introduced soon after the Civil War, but either perished from cold or were abandoned in favor of more promising races.
**Other Races.**
There are numerous other races in Asia and Africa which are as yet but little known in this country. It is hardly probable that new races superior to those already introduced will be found. The native Grecian bee is said to resemble the hybrids so common in this country, but has probably not been tried here as yet.
## Chapter 2 Life Story of the Bee.
In a normal colony of bees, during the summer season, will be found one queen, several thousand workers and a few dozen drones. If the bees are left to themselves and receive no attention from their owner, the number of drones is greatly increased, and often reaches the point where they consume what might otherwise be stored as surplus honey. Since there are but few readers of a book of this nature who are not already familiar with the life of the honeybee, it would seem, at first thought, that little space need be occupied in consideration of this subject. However, the volume cannot be complete without some attention to the life history of the insects, especially with attention to those points with special bearing on the subject of queen rearing.
Since the life of the colony centers in the queen, she becomes of special importance, and she receives attention from the workers worthy of her special place. Should she be removed from the hive, great excitement will shortly prevail with manifestation of serious distress on the part of the inmates. Unless she be promptly returned, the bees will prepare to replace her by starting numerous queen cells, utilizing the newly hatched larvae for the purpose.
### 2 Life of the Queen.
As stated elsewhere, all fertilized eggs laid by the queen produce female offspring. Whether these shall develop as queens or workers is determined by the environment in which the development takes place. In any case the egg hatches in about three days. Where eggs are placed in queen cells it is very doubtful whether they receive any different treatmentbefore hatching than do the eggs in ordinary worker cells. It is after the hatching of the egg that the embryo queen receives special attention, which results in the perfect development of her sexual organs. The larger cell in which she finds herself, together with a plenteous supply of the rich food known as royal jelly, makes of her a very different creature than of her sister in the worker cell.
The queen lacks the wax secreting organs as well as the pollen baskets of the worker. Neither has she the same highly developed eyes as the worker. Her period of development is much shorter, while her body is larger and quite different in appearance. Approximately sixteen days are necessary for the complete development of the queen bee from the time of the laying of the egg. Of this, three days are necessary for the egg to hatch, six days are spent in the larval stage, and seven days in completing the final transformation, during which she is sealed up in the cell. Twelve days are necessary for the last stage of development of the worker, thus requiring twenty-one days for the entire development.
Apparently the queen larvae are fed for the first thirty-six hours in very similar manner to the workers. After that time they are fed far more of the royal jelly than they can possibly consume, being left to float in the rich white substance. While the worker is fed on pollen and honey during the latter part of her period of development, the queen larvae is fed the royal jelly during the entire period of larval growth.
### The Drone.
The drones are male bees and, apparently, serve no other purpose than the perpetuation of the species. Since under normal conditions a queen bee mates but once in her lifetime, but few drones are needed to serve the purpose for which they are designed by nature. In a state of nature, where colonies are isolated it may be needful that a large number of drones be reared to insure that the young queen will meet one when she goes forth to her mating flight. Where dozens of hives are kept together in a single apiary, as is the case in practice of commercial beekceping, the beekeeper may keep the number down to the minimum, without danger that a sufficient number will not be present. Hundreds of apiaries are unprofitable because their owners fail to take the necessary care to insure the reduction of the number of drones, which consume the surplus of the colony instead of adding to the store.
Except in the case of the queen breeder who wishes to propagate large numbers of males from choice colonies for breeding purposes, the presence of an over-abundance of drones is a serious handicap to the success of the beekeeper. The use of full sheets of foundation in the brood frames is the best insurance against the raising of drones.
The cells in which drones are reared are similar in appearance to worker cells, except that they are larger in size. They are utilized for the storage of honey the same as are the worker cells. When the brood is developing the high arched cappings, like rifle bullets, will instantly distinguish them from the smooth capping of worker brood. Twenty-five days is necessary for the development of the drone from the time the egg is laid until it reaches maturity. Mating of honeybees takes place on the wing, and the act is fatal to the drone. He dies almost instantly, and his sexual organs are torn from his body and borne away attached to the body of the queen. After all the seminal fluid has been absorbed by the queen, the parts are removed, apparently by the workers which can sometimes be seen pulling at them after the return of the queen.
### Queen Rearing in Nature.
Under normal conditions the bees build queen cells on two occasions, to supersede the old queen or in preparation for swarming. Where the old queen shows signs of failing, the bees will often build only one or two cells. When the young queen emerges, she will often be mated and begin laying without manifesting any antagonism toward the old queen. It thus happens that the beekeeper frequently will find two lay ing queens in the old hive. It is usually but a short time until the old one will disappear. As soon as the first virgin emerges she will at once seek out any other queen cells which may be present and destroy the occupants, unless prevented from doing so by the workers, as is the case when there is preparation for swarming.
When swarming is in prospect several cells are usually built, and the number may be twenty or more at the height of the season. With some other races the number is much greater than with the Italians.
The beekeeper with a few colonies can sometimes supply his needs by simply cutting out the surplus cells, built in anticipation of swarming, and using them to replace undesirable queens, or in the making of increase.
Figure 1: Queen cells built under the swarming impulse.
## Chapter 3 Improvement of Stock by Breeding.
It is highly important that every person engaged in commercial queen rearing, should make a careful study of the laws of breeding, and make a conscientious effort to improve his stock. Marvelous results have come from careful breeding of live stock and poultry, and even more striking results have attended the efforts of the painstaking plant breeders. Since bees are subject to the same laws of heredity, there is no reason why they cannot be likewise improved if the same care is given to the selection and mating of queens, that is given to other animals.
Figure 2: A large average production is only secured by careful attention to the selection of stock.
The fact that there is great difficulty in controlling the male parentage, makes the problem of breeding bees a more serious one than breeders of animals have to face. On the other hand, the possibility of several succeeding generations in a single season makes it possible to secure results in a much shorter period of time.