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Show 298 IIIVE-DEES. CHAP. VIII. successive old cocoons. The best authorities 57 concur that, with the exception of the Ligurian race or species, presently to be mentioned distinct breeds do not exist in Britain or on the Continent. Ti10re is, however, even in the same stock, some variability in colour. Thus 1\ir. W oodlmry states 5~ that he has several times soon queen bees of the common kmd annulatod with yellow like Ligurian queens, and tho latter. d~rk-c~lourod like common Lees. lie has also observed vanatwns m the colour of tho drones without any conosponding difference in the queens or work~rs of the same hive. The great apiarian Dzierzon, in answer to my queries on this subject, says 59 that in Germany bees of some stocks are decidedly dark, whilst others are remarkable for their yellow colour. Bees also seem to differ in habits in different districts, for Dzierzon adds, " If many stocks with their offspring are more inclined to swarm, whilst others are richer iu honey, so that some beekeepers even distinguish between swarming and honey-gatheringbees this is a habit which has become second nature, caused by the 'customary mode of keeping tho bees and the pasturage of tho district. For example ; what a difference in this respeet one may perceive to exist between the bees .of the. Luneburg heath and those of this country ! " ...... "Removmg an old. queen and substituting a young one of the cunent year is h~re an infallible modo of keeping the strongest stock from swarmmg and preventing drone-breeding; whilst the same moans if adopted in Hanover ,wuld certainly be of no avail." I procured a hive full of dead boos from Jamaica, where they have long been naturalised, and, on carefully comparing them under the microscope with my own boos, I could detect not a traee of difference. This remarkable uniformity in tho hive-bee, wherever kept, may probably be accounted for by tho great difficulty, or rather impossibility, of bringing selection into play by paii·ing particular queens and drones, for these insects unite only during 57 See a discussion on this subject, in answer to a question of mine, in' Journal of Horticulture,' 1862, pp. 225-242; also Mr. Devan Fox, in ditto, 1862, p. 284. ~s This excellent observer may be implicitly trusted; see ' Journo.l of Horticulture,' July 14th, 1863, p. 39. 59 'Journal of Horticulture,' Sept. !)tb, 1862, p. 463; see also Herr Kloino on same subject (Nov. 11th, p. 643), who uums up, that, though there is some vnriability in colour, no constant or perceptible differences can be detected in the bees of Germany. CIJAP, Vlli. IIIVE-BEES. 29& fiight. Nor is there any record, with a single partial exception, of any person having separated and bred from a hive in which the workers presented some appreciable difference. In order to form a new breed, seclusion from other bees would, as we now know, be indispensable; for since the introduction of the Ligurian bee into Germany and England, it has been found that the drones wander at least two miles fi·om their own hives and often cross with the queens of the common bee.G0 The Lig~rian bee, although perfectly fertile when crossed with the common kind, is ~·a~kecl by most naturaHsts as a distinct species, whilst by others It IS ranked as a natural variety : but this form need not here be noticed, as there is no reason to believe that it is the product of domestication. The Egyptian and some other bees are likewise ~·anked by Dr. Gerstacker, 61 but not by other highly competent Judges, as geographical races; and he grounds his conclusion in chief part on the fact that in certain districts, as in the Crimea and Rhodes, the hive-bee varies so much in colour, that the several geographical races can be closely connected by intermediate forms. I have alluded to a single instance of the separation and preservation of a particular stock of bees. Mr. Lowe 62 procured some bees from a cottager a few miles from Edinburgh, and perceived that they differed from tho common bee in the hairs on tho head and thorax being lighter coloured and more profuse in quantity. From the date of the introduction of the Ligurian bee into Great Britain we may feel sme that these be?s ha~ not been crossed with this form. Mr. Lowe propagated this var10ty, but unfortunately did not separate the stock from his other bees, and after three gen.erations the new character was almost completely lost. Nevertheless, as he adds, "a great n~~ber of the bees still retain traces, though faint, of the original colony." This case shows us what could probably be effected by careful and long-continued selection applied exclusively to the workers, for, as we have seen, queens and drones cannot be selected and paired. 60 Mr. Woodbmy bas published several such accounts in' Jomno.l of Horticulture,' 1861 and 1862. 61 'Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist.,' 3rd series, vol. xi. p. 339. 62 'The Cottage Gardener,' Mar, 1860, p. no; and ditto in 'Jomnal of I:Iort.,' 1862, p. 242. |