An insect of the order Hymenoptera, and family Apidæ (the honeybees), or family Andrenidæ (the solitary bees.) See Honeybee. (Zool.)
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.
Pieces of hard wood bolted to the sides of the bowsprit, to reeve the fore-topmast stays through; -- called also bee blocks. (Naut.)
Phrases & Compounds
Bee beetle
a beetle (Trichodes apiarius) parasitic in beehives.
Bee bird
a bird that eats the honeybee, as the European flycatcher, and the American kingbird.
Bee flower
an orchidaceous plant of the genus Ophrys (Ophrys apifera), whose flowers have some resemblance to bees, flies, and other insects.
Bee fly
a two winged fly of the family Bombyliidæ. Some species, in the larval state, are parasitic upon bees.
Bee garden
a garden or inclosure to set beehives in ; an apiary.
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
the honey buzzard.
Bee killer
a large two-winged fly of the family Asilidæ (esp. Trupanea apivora) which feeds upon the honeybee. See Robber fly.
Bee louse
a minute, wingless, dipterous insect (Braula cæca) parasitic on hive bees.
Bee martin
the kingbird (Tyrannus Carolinensis) which occasionally feeds on bees.
Bee moth
a moth (Galleria cereana) whose larvæ feed on honeycomb, occasioning great damage in beehives.
Bee wolf
the larva of the bee beetle. See Illust. of Bee beetle.