. The A B C of bee culture: a cyclopaedia of every thing pertaining to the care of the honey-bee. . now TO TELL IIVniUDS FItOM IMUK ITALIANS. and in that condition they sometimes would be called (jueens. by an inexperienced person. On the contrary, in tlie fall of the year when the bee is preparing for his winter nap, liis body is so much drawn ui) that he scarcely seems like the same insect. The en- | graving on the right shows the body of the bee detached from the shoulders, that we may get a full view of tlie bands or markings that distinguish the Italians from t!ie com- mon l)ees. Now I wi
. The A B C of bee culture: a cyclopaedia of every thing pertaining to the care of the honey-bee. . now TO TELL IIVniUDS FItOM IMUK ITALIANS. and in that condition they sometimes would be called (jueens. by an inexperienced person. On the contrary, in tlie fall of the year when the bee is preparing for his winter nap, liis body is so much drawn ui) that he scarcely seems like the same insect. The en- | graving on the right shows the body of the bee detached from the shoulders, that we may get a full view of tlie bands or markings that distinguish the Italians from t!ie com- mon l)ees. Now I wish you to oliservi" par- j ticularly. that all honey - bees, common as well as Italian, have four bauds of bright- cilored down. J. K. L. M. one on each of the I four middle rings of the body, but none on [ the first, and none on the last. Thesebands of down are very bright on young bees, but may be so worn off as to be almost or entire- ly wanting on an old bee, especially mi those that have been in tlie habit of robbing very iiiucli. This is the explanation of the glossy blackness of rolibers often seen dodg- ing about the hives. Perhaps S(|ueezing through small crevices has thus worn off i the down, or it may be that pushing through I perhaps, all noticed the inogeuy of some par- ticular queen when they first came out to lilay. and pronounced them the handsomest bees you ever saw: hut a few months after, they would be no better looking than the rest of your Ijees. This is siiiii)ly liecause they had worn off their handsome plumage, ill the " stem realities " of hard work iu the fields. Occasionally you will find a (lueen whose bees have baiiils nearly white in- stead of yellow, and this is what has led to the so-called albino bees. Wlieu the plum- age is gone, they are just like other Ital- ians. >*ow, these bauds of down have noth- ing to do with the yellow bands that are characteristic of the Italians ; for, after this has worn off. the yellow bands are m
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Keywords: ., bookauthorrootaiam, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookyear1891
