From T. W. Woodbury 17 March 1863
Mount Radford, | Exeter.
17th March 1863
Dear Sir
I am exceedingly obliged to you for favouring me with specimens of bees and their comb from Africa.1 I suppose the bees are apis Adansonii as they appear to tally with the description of that species in the Naturalist’s Library.2 They appear almost identical with apis Ligustica with the exception of being smaller. Very careful comparison of their comb with that of mellifica enables me to pronounce the cells exactly the same ⟨size⟩
How singular it appears that this small bee as well as the large species apis testacea do not vary one iota in the size of their cells from our European species! It would be very interesting to ascertain if the small species so common in India (apis Indica) also makes the same sized cell.
These bees being so small would not repay the trouble of attempting to import them,3 but I still have a strong impression that the large Indian species (apis dorsata) would be very valuable. ⟨I⟩ dare say you may have seen my queries regarding them together with the answers in “The Field.”4 Little practical information has resulted, nor do I yet see my way to taking any steps for their importation. Have you noticed that the first four hives of Ligustica sent by me to Australia have all got there in safety?5
I have never heard if the piece of partially completed artificial comb proved at all interesting to you6
Yours greatly obliged | T W Woodbury
C. Darwin Esq
Footnotes
Bibliography
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Duncan, James. 1840. The natural history of bees: comprehending the uses and economical management of the British and foreign honey-bee; together with the known wild species. Vol. 38 of The naturalist’s library, edited by William Jardine. 40 vols. 1833–43. Edinburgh: W. H. Lizars.
Neighbour, Alfred. 1865. The apiary; or, bees, bee-hives, and bee culture: being a familiar account of the habits of bees, and the most improved methods of management, with full directions, adapted for the cottager, farmer, or scientific apiarian. London: Kent & Co.; Geo. Neighbour & Sons.
Origin: On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1859.
Summary
Bee species of different sizes build cells the same size.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-4049
- From
- Thomas White Woodbury
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- Exeter
- Source of text
- DAR 181: 150
- Physical description
- ALS 3pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 4049,” accessed on 19 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-4049.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 11