BEES
Noun
bees
plural of bee
Anagrams
• BSEE, EBEs, SEbE
Noun
Bees
plural of Bee
Anagrams
• BSEE, EBEs, SEbE
Source: Wiktionary
BEE
Bee,
Definition: p. p. of Be; -- used for been. [Obs.] Spenser.
Bee, n. Etym: [AS. beó; akin to D. bij and bije, Icel. b, Sw. & Dan.
bi, OHG. pini, G. biene, and perh. Ir. beach, Lith. bitis, Skr. bha.
sq. root97.]
1. (Zoöl.)
Definition: An insect of the order Hymenoptera, and family Apidæ (the
honeybees), or family Andrenidæ (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. Etym: [Prob. fr. AS. beáh ring, fr. b to bend. See 1st Bow.]
(Naut.)
Definition: Pieces of hard wood bolted to the sides of the bowsprit, to
reeve the fore-topmast stays through; -- called also bee blocks. Bee
beetle (Zoöl.), a beetle (Trichodes apiarius) parasitic in beehives.
– Bee bird (Zoöl.), 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 (Zoöl.), 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.
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 (Zoöl.), the honey buzzard.
– Bee killer (Zoöl.), a large two-winged fly of the family Asilidæ
(esp. Trupanea apivora) which feeds upon the honeybee. See Robber
fly.
– Bee louse (Zoöl.), a minute, wingless, dipterous insect (Braula
cæca) parasitic on hive bees.
– Bee martin (Zoöl.), the kingbird (Tyrannus Carolinensis) which
occasionally feeds on bees.
– Bee moth (Zoöl.), a moth (Galleria cereana) whose larvæ feed on
honeycomb, occasioning great damage in beehives.
– Bee wolf (Zoöl.), 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.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition