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Definitions for: Bee
[n] any of numerous hairy-bodied insects including social and solitary species
[n] a social gathering to carry out some communal task or to hold competitions
Webster (1913) Definition: Bee,
p. p. of Be; -- used for been. [Obs.] --Spenser.
Bee (b[=e]), n. [AS. be['o]; akin to D. bij and bije,
Icel. b?, Sw. & Dan. bi, OHG. pini, G. biene, and perh. Ir.
beach, Lith. bitis, Skr. bha. [root]97.]
1. (Zo["o]l.) An insect of the order Hymenoptera, and
family Apid[ae] (the honeybees), or family
Andrenid[ae] (the solitary bees.) See Honeybee.
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.
See Also: alkali bee, andrena, andrenid, Apis mellifera, Apoidea, bumblebee, carpenter bee, cornhusking, cuckoo-bumblebee, drone, honeybee, humblebee, husking bee, hymenopter, hymenopteran, hymenopteron, hymenopterous insect, leaf-cutter, leaf-cutter bee, leaf-cutting bee, mason bee, mining bee, Nomia melanderi, potter bee, quilting bee, social affair, social gathering, superfamily Apoidea
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