. The American apiculturist: a journal devoted to scientific and practical beekeeping. Bee culture. Tm AMERICAN. *^ ^^ ^h PICULTURIST, A Journal Devoted, to Practical Beekeeping. VOL. IX. JULY, 1891. No. 7. FOREIGN NOTES. ARE BEES NATIVKS OF A WAliM CLIMATE? One of the mistakes of modern bee- keepers is the saying, that bees are na- tives of a warm chmate. Who was the first one to say so, I do not know, but nearly every day we can hear or read this fable here in the United States as well as in the old country, but I have never seen any proof for it. This ques- tion is important because a numbe
. The American apiculturist: a journal devoted to scientific and practical beekeeping. Bee culture. Tm AMERICAN. *^ ^^ ^h PICULTURIST, A Journal Devoted, to Practical Beekeeping. VOL. IX. JULY, 1891. No. 7. FOREIGN NOTES. ARE BEES NATIVKS OF A WAliM CLIMATE? One of the mistakes of modern bee- keepers is the saying, that bees are na- tives of a warm chmate. Who was the first one to say so, I do not know, but nearly every day we can hear or read this fable here in the United States as well as in the old country, but I have never seen any proof for it. This ques- tion is important because a number of winter theories are based on this, so it will be of interest to look the matter over. If we take into consideration the present geographical extension of the honey-bee {Apis mellifica), we see that this bee nowhere in a tropic climate is native ; where we find it, we know it is imported by man. In tropic climates we find some other species of bees. This may prove very little, but it is strik- ing if we see that in such countries the honey bee now is not native at all. We know that Germany was a cold and rough country before she got in communication with (Greece and Roman civilization. The oldest notice from Germany about bees we receive from Pythias, living at the time of Alexander the Great (about 330 B. C). He says that amber merchants found honey on the northern coast of Germany. Later we read in Pliniiis (Hist. Nat. IX, 18), that after the bat- tle of Arbalo in northwestern Germany (about 12 B. C.) a bee-swarm alighted in the camp of the Romans. Herodotus (at 440 B. C.) says that north of the Danube river no invasion into that country was possible on account of the great number of honey bees. It may be said, nevertlieless, that the bees may have emigrated there from a warmer climate. But we see that the honey- bees of that time must be especially fitted for this rough climate, if we take into consideration that the old Germans hardly knew anything of scientific win- te
Size: 2466px × 1014px
Photo credit: © Library Book Collection / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectbeecult, bookyear1883
