Note: There are many genera and species. The common honeybee
({Apis mellifica}) lives in swarms, each of which has
its own queen, its males or drones, and its very
numerous workers, which are barren females. Besides the
{A. mellifica} there are other species and varieties of
honeybees, as the {A. ligustica} of Spain and Italy;
the {A. Indica} of India; the {A. fasciata} of Egypt.
The {bumblebee} is a species of {Bombus}. The tropical
honeybees belong mostly to {Melipoma} and {Trigona}.
2. A neighborly gathering of people who engage in united
labor for the benefit of an individual or family; as, a
quilting bee; a husking bee; a raising bee. [U. S.]
The cellar . . . was dug by a bee in a single day.
--S. G.
Goodrich.
3. pl. [Prob. fr. AS. be['a]h ring, fr. b?gan to bend. See
1st {Bow}.] (Naut.) Pieces of hard wood bolted to the
sides of the bowsprit, to reeve the fore-topmast stays
through; -- called also {bee blocks}.
{Bee beetle} (Zo["o]l.), a beetle ({Trichodes apiarius})
parasitic in beehives.
{Bee bird} (Zo["o]l.), a bird that eats the honeybee, as the
European flycatcher, and the American kingbird.
{Bee flower} (Bot.), an orchidaceous plant of the genus
{Ophrys} ({O. apifera}), whose flowers have some
resemblance to bees, flies, and other insects.
{Bee fly} (Zo["o]l.), a two winged fly of the family
{Bombyliid[ae]}. Some species, in the larval state, are
parasitic upon bees.
{Bee garden}, a garden or inclosure to set beehives in; an
apiary. --Mortimer.
{Bee glue}, a soft, unctuous matter, with which bees cement
the combs to the hives, and close up the cells; -- called
also {propolis}.
{Bee hawk} (Zo["o]l.), the honey buzzard.
{Bee killer} (Zo["o]l.), a large two-winged fly of the family
{Asilid[ae]} (esp. {Trupanea apivora}) which feeds upon
the honeybee. See {Robber fly}.
{Bee louse} (Zo["o]l.), a minute, wingless, dipterous insect
({Braula c[ae]ca}) parasitic on hive bees.
{Bee martin} (Zo["o]l.), the kingbird ({Tyrannus
Carolinensis}) which occasionally feeds on bees.
{Bee moth} (Zo["o]l.), a moth ({Galleria cereana}) whose
larv[ae] feed on honeycomb, occasioning great damage in
beehives.
{Bee wolf} (Zo["o]l.), the larva of the bee beetle. See
Illust. of {Bee beetle}.
{To have a bee in the head} or {in the bonnet}.
(a) To be choleric. [Obs.]
(b) To be restless or uneasy. --B. Jonson.
(c) To be full of fancies; to be a little crazy. ``She's
whiles crack-brained, and has a bee in her head.''
--Sir W. Scott.
Note: There are many species. All gather honey, and store it
in the empty cocoons after the young have come out.