They appear among the Cyprian and Syrian bees more frequently than among the Italians.
RACES OF DOMESTIC BEES
Several races of the honey bee have been developed in different countries. Some of these have been imported into the United States, and many experiments have been made to determine their relative values.
There were no native honey bees in North America north of Mexico, and the black or German bees were the first to be brought to this country by the pioneers. The wild bees which stock the woods of our country to-day are chiefly black bees, the descendants of swarms which have escaped from apiaries. For many years the black or German race was the only kind in general use here. Within recent years the eastern races of bees, Cyprians, Holy-Lands, or Syrians, and also the Egyptians and Carniolans and Italians have been introduced. Of all these, only the Italians have come into universal favour.
The Italians are the classic bees which were discussed by Aristotle, and sung about by Virgil, who describes their bodies as "shining like drops of sparkling gold." The Italian worker has five yellow bands that mark the front portions of the five segments of the abdomen which lie next to the thorax; the two posterior bands are made by yellow hairs and are therefore likely to disappear as the bee gets old and bald. But the three front ones are made not only by yellow hairs, but also by the yellowish
