Bee \Bee\,
   p. p. of Be; -- used for been. [Obs.] --Spenser.
   [1913 Webster]

	

	Bee \Bee\ (b[=e]), n. [AS. be['o]; akin to D. bij and bije,
   Icel. b[=y], Sw. & Dan. bi, OHG. pini, G. biene, and perh.
   Ir. beach, Lith. bitis, Skr. bha. [root]97.]
   1. (Zool.) An insect of the order Hymenoptera, and family
      Apid[ae] (the honeybees), or family Andrenid[ae] (the
      solitary bees.) See Honeybee.
      [1913 Webster]

   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
         Apis mellifica there are other species and varieties
         of honeybees, as the Apis ligustica of Spain and
         Italy; the Apis Indica of India; the Apis fasciata
         of Egypt. The bumblebee is a species of Bombus. The
         tropical honeybees belong mostly to Melipoma and
         Trigona.
         [1913 Webster]

   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.]
      [1913 Webster]

            The cellar . . . was dug by a bee in a single day.
                                                  --S. G.
                                                  Goodrich.
      [1913 Webster]

   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.
      [1913 Webster]

   Bee beetle (Zool.), a beetle (Trichodes apiarius)
      parasitic in beehives.

   Bee bird (Zool.), a bird that eats the honeybee, as the
      European flycatcher, and the American kingbird.

   Bee flower (Bot.), an orchidaceous plant of the genus
      Ophrys (Ophrys apifera), whose flowers have some
      resemblance to bees, flies, and other insects.

   Bee fly (Zool.), 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 (Zool.), the honey buzzard.

   Bee killer (Zool.), a large two-winged fly of the family
      Asilid[ae] (esp. Trupanea apivora) which feeds upon
      the honeybee. See Robber fly.

   Bee louse (Zool.), a minute, wingless, dipterous insect
      (Braula c[ae]ca) parasitic on hive bees.

   Bee martin (Zool.), the kingbird (Tyrannus Carolinensis)
      which occasionally feeds on bees.

   Bee moth (Zool.), a moth (Galleria cereana) whose
      larv[ae] feed on honeycomb, occasioning great damage in
      beehives.

   Bee wolf (Zool.), the larva of the bee beetle. See Illust.
      of Bee beetle.

   To have a bee in the head or To have a bee 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.
          [1913 Webster] beebalm

	

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

	

	24 Moby Thesaurus words for "bee":
   boutade, bumblebee, conceit, cornhusking, crotchet, drone, fancy,
   freak, honeybee, hornet, humor, husking, idea, impulse, megrim,
   queen, queen bee, quilting bee, raising bee, vagary, wasp, whim,
   worker, yellow jacket

	

	Bee
   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.

	

	Bee -- U.S. County in Texas
   Population (2000):    32359
   Housing Units (2000): 10939
   Land area (2000):     880.143320 sq. miles (2279.560638 sq. km)
   Water area (2000):    0.170296 sq. miles (0.441064 sq. km)
   Total area (2000):    880.313616 sq. miles (2280.001702 sq. km)
   Located within:       Texas (TX), FIPS 48
   Location:             28.411702 N, 97.746289 W
   Headwords:
    Bee
    Bee, TX
    Bee County
    Bee County, TX

	

	Bee, NE -- U.S. village in Nebraska
   Population (2000):    223
   Housing Units (2000): 89
   Land area (2000):     0.247993 sq. miles (0.642298 sq. km)
   Water area (2000):    0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km)
   Total area (2000):    0.247993 sq. miles (0.642298 sq. km)
   FIPS code:            03600
   Located within:       Nebraska (NE), FIPS 31
   Location:             41.005857 N, 97.057969 W
   ZIP Codes (1990):     68314
   Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
   Headwords:
    Bee, NE
    Bee