Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1863-02-06
IrALIAN MONEY-BEEs.
X. 7. kIDDEB,
Practical Apiculturist,
Burlington, VI

VI. Fhf'r
In answer TO the numerous letters
o. inquifes pertaining to this new species, al
Iov, me through the columns Of your paper. to
give a description of this peculiar kind Of
i-s.
When t1ey we're Grst introduced into this
country. regarded them more of a h-u5ug.
'h1u ~ improved species Of honey bee, and no
doub, bu; others have come 70 tho zane con-
clus:on-. Bur after due consideration and sxper-
meuts for the past three years. bsvs become
fully convinced their superiority over the nati7,
bee. They seem to te a very tough, hardy bee.
viii stand the cold Of our northern winters better.
clIect honey much faster, work earlier in ths
morning ANA is'er a, night, than our native
k;ui. The 4ueenz arc more proliso. and vii
brood much flster than ths common sPccies--
They VII caIlc;t honey from some species Of
dorers which other bees pass By. Their probes
els seems to he triGe longer. and being stronger
aui more active, they viii frequently tear the
an;hers Of flowers open to obtain the sweets,
Which the common bee vii Hspsr do. and as hss
besn fre4uoutly alleged. l-iH collect honey from
the smaller species ofredclo Their size is gov
ernel by the size Of the cells where
they are reared. L comb Of other bees mako
IS useI, they VIII be about the same sire as our
common bee. But if they are allowed to buiA
their own brloi comb, they VIII Be considerably
large.
Il has been frequently assertsl that the Itsl-
ian. have 10 ,c,a10a Of defence This Is an
error. 81 Iles,rnel in the early part Of my eK-
periineu,-. then thought they hsd instruments
OF ,-arfase Of unusual length. By careful man
asemeu,, l find they are much less liable to sting
thsu the oil Kind Bee-keepers who are not
thoroughly acquainted with the nature Of bees,
vculd do well to use FHniydtioz PIPE, which
viii render any swarm perfectly manageable in
les than ten seconds. They can even be shook
out OF the hive, AMI not a Dee viii resent il.
They seem to differ very materially in color as
well as in the shape OF their body, from the com
mon Sind. Their bodies seem to be somewhat
longer, aud taper 10 near a point. The workers
arc all marked BY q series of gold bands. cncir-
cling their bodies Just under the wings Ihs
drones are not 80 strongly marked The work
els resemble the common yellow wasp quite a.
much a. they do the common kind ofbees The
queens vary N color; some Of them are a dark
brown. others are quite light, approaching 70
near e gold color but the progeny Of darS
queen, bear the mark quite as plain as light
c,l0rcd one.
In regard 10 their moral habits, can
not speak very 4vorablv. unless it is fo- the roh-
har~ Of our common stocks. In that capacity.
tliey viii excel anything | have ever seen. Being
vcrv mar, and active. they vii make their vay
into snv ccmmon hive and get a load Of honey
and make their escaps unharmed They vii
hsg, a full hive whether it IS good honey sea
sou er not, and have Frequently had them hli
two hive, hv Plscins one on the top cf thr
other
I would a.l,ise all persons who engage in
their culture. to make the entrance Of the hive
containing the native species, very small, 20 Pre-
vent being robbed by them The entrance OF
he Italian sVarms should also be contracted, 20
rrcvcr- their Robin, ne;ghborinS spiaries--
The I,slisus are not 50 liable TO rob their ovr
specie. Arustsurs just commencing the culture
Of bees, wouIl be greatly benefited BY purchss-
inc sorac -tcd 'reafie upon their nature and
habit. 4. 7. klDpEK,
Practical Apicul'uris', Burlington, Verncn-