Ape Nera Sicula

Apis mellifera siciliana: dark abdomen, yellow down, small wings, and thousands of years on the island. It nearly went in the 1970s, when beekeepers gave up the old rectangular hives built of dried fennel stalks and brought in the Italian bee from the north. It is docile and very productive, works through heat above 40 degrees when other bees have stopped, and takes sudden changes of temperature in its stride.