1. [n]  any of numerous hairy-bodied insects including social and solitary species
2. [n]  a social gathering to carry out some communal task or to hold competitions

Bee
A simple introduction to the physical characteristics, diet, life cycle, predators, habitat, and lifespan of bees

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1. \Bee\,
   p. p. of {Be}; -- used for been. [Obs.] --Spenser.
   

2. \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.
   

First mentioned in Deut. 1:44. Swarms of bees, and the danger of their attacks, are mentioned in Ps. 118:12. Samson found a "swarm of bees" in the carcass of a lion he had slain (Judg. 14:8). Wild bees are described as laying up honey in woods and in clefts of rocks (Deut. 32:13; Ps. 81:16). In Isa. 7:18 the "fly" and the "bee" are personifications of the Egyptians and Assyrians, the inveterate enemies of Israel.