Bee

n. [A-S. bee, D. bij and bije, Icel. by, Sw. bi, Dan. bie, O. H. Ger. pia, pini, M. H. Ger. bie, bin, N. H. Ger. beie and biene, Ir. beach, W. gwenynen, pl. gwenyn, Arm. gwénanen, pl. gwénan.] 1. (Entom.) A four-winged insect of the order Hymenoptera, and family Apis. There are many genera and species; the common honey-bee is the Apis mellifica, and lives in swarms, each of which has its own queen, its males or drones, and its very numerous neuters or workers. Besides the A. mellifica there are other species of honey-bees, as the A. ligustica of Spain and Italy; the A. unicolor of Madagascar and Mauritius; the A. Indica of India; the A. fasciata of Egypt; the A. Adamsoniæ of Senegal, and others. The bumble-bee is a species of Bombus.

2. An assemblage of persons who meet to engage in united labor for the benefit of an individual or family; as a quilting-bee, a husking-bee, a raising-bee, &c. [Amer.] Bartlett.
3. (Mus.) A combination of reeds connected with the mouth-piece of an oboe, and other similar wind-instruments.
4. pl. (Naut.) Pieces of plank bolted to the outer end of the bowsprit, to reeve the fore-topmast stays through. Totten.

To have bees in the head. (a.) To be choleric. [Obs.] (b.) To be restless or uneasy. B. Jonson. (c.) To be a little crazy. “She’s whiles crack-brained, and has a bee in her head.” W. Scott.