Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1863-02-27

Italian Honey Bees.

Ma. EDTToEs In answer 70 the numcF-
Gus letters Of inquiries pertaining 20 this
new sPscies. allow me throsgh the columns
Of your paper. 20 give a description Of this
peculiar Kind Of ~.
When they ze-c fTs; inSrOd1ced into tbs
country. regarded them uiorc q n tE-s-
bag. than An improved species Of honey
bee. and no doubt bat othcrs have come 90
the sane conclusions. But after due cun-
sideratiOu and experiments for the pas;
three year. have become fully ooaVinccd
Of their superiority over the native bee.
They seem 70 b. a VERY souch. hardy bee.
VII stand the cold % our northern winters
better. collect honey much fastsr. work
earlier in the morning and later Al night.
than our native Kind. The queens are norc
prolific. and vii breed much faster than the
common species They VAL collect honey
from some species Of flowers which other
bees pass BY. Their Proboscis seems 20 De
a trife longer. and being s,ro1ger and
more active. they Will Frequently tear the
anthers Of aowers open 10 obtain tie
sweets, which the common bee vii ncrsr
do. and As has been frcqgensly alleged. ,riv
collect honey from the smaller spevses OF
nd dover Their si=e is governed hv TIE
SIZE Of the eelis wherc they are reared. n
comb Of other bees make j. used. thcv VIII
be about the same SIZE As our common
bees. BEf 4 they are allowed 70 build
their own brood comb. they vii be consid-
crably larger.
IL has been frequently asserted. that tie
Italians have no serPoa OF defence. Thi.
Is an err0r. A. I learned IN the early part q
my experiments. then tbought thcv had
instruments Of ,rerfar, q unusual lenrth.
BY careful management. End thev ar
much isss liable 70 sting than the old Kind
Bee-keePers Who arr not thoroughly &C
qualnted With The nature Of bees. would 90
well % Use F1nligafios PIP. which wiu
render any swarm perfectly manageable IN
less tan ten seconds. They can even D.
shook cut 81 the hive. and not be- VII
resent L.
They seem "a difer very materially In
color as vel A. IN she shape % their BODY.
from the common kind. Tier bodicr seem
70 BE somewhat longer. and taper - near :
point The workers are all marked with =
serles Of gold bands. encircling their bod
les JHst Gnder the wings. The drOnes arr
not 50 strongly marked. The workers re-
sem5le the common yellow wasp quite As
much a. they 10 the common Kind % bees
Ihe queens vary in color; some % them
are dark brown. other aru quite light.
aPPro4ching 10 near gold color. bar The
progeny q dark queen. bear the uaark
quite As plain a. Ishi colored one.
IN regard % their moral habits. cannot
speak very avorably. unless Il j. for the
rohoeEs u cur common stocks. ia that
capacity. they VIII excel anything I have
ever seen. Being very smart and active.
theg vii make their way into any common
hive and get load q honey and make
their escape unharTned. They vail have a
iall hive whether it Is a good honey season
or not. and have frcqaeHtly had them fn
Two hives, by placing one On tie top Of Tie
other.
would advise all persons vLo engage in
their culsurr. 20 make the entrance Il tLc
Live containing the native species. very
small. % prevent being robbed by ;hcm.
Ihe entrance q the Italian swarms shoald
Aiso y coEtraete&. 90 prevent ,heir rob-
bing neighboring aPiaries. To Ital,au.
are not 50 Liable 90 rob their own sretir.
Amateurs Just commencing the CULTURE 90
bees. would - greatly benefited % pur-
chasing some good ireaii-c uIou their M
tgre and habffs. \. T. Kfnnrr.
Practical Apiculfurist.
Burlingfon. ~