BEE, the common name given to a large family of hymenopterous or membranous-winged insects, of which the most important is the common hive or honey bee (apis mellifica) . It belongs to the warmer parts of the Eastern Hemisphere, but is now naturalized in the Western. A hive commonly consists of one mother or queen, from 600 to 800 males or drones, and from 15,000 to 20,000 working bees, formerly termed neuters, but now known to be imperfectly developed females. The last mentioned, the smallest, have twelve joints to their antennae, and six abdominal rings, and are provided with a sting; there is, on the outside of the hind legs, a smooth hollow, edged with hairs, called the basket, in which the kneaded pollen or bee bread, the food of the larvae, is stored for transit. The queen has the same characteristics, but is of larger size, especially in the abdomen; she has also a sting. The males, or drones, differ from both the preceding by having 13 joints to the antennae; a rounded head with larger eyes, elongated and united at the summit; and no stings. Bees undergo perfect metamorphosis, the young appearing first as larvae, then changing to pupae, from which the images or perfect insects spring. The season of fecundation occurs about the beginning of summer, and the laying begins immediately afterward, and continues until autumn; in the spring as many as 12,000 eggs may be laid in 24 days. Those laid at the commencement of fine weather all belong to the working sort, and hatch at the end of four days. The larvae acquire their perfect state in about 12 days, and the cells are then immediately fitted up for the reception of new eggs. The eggs for producing males are laid two months later, and those for the females immediately afterward. This succession of generations forms so many distinct communities, which when increased beyond a certain degree leave the parent hive to found a new colony elsewhere. Thus three or four swarms sometimes leave a hive in a season. A good swarm is said to weigh at least six or eight pounds. Besides the common bee (A. mellifica) there are the A. fasciata, domesticated in Egypt, the A. ligustica, or Ligurian bee of Italy and Greece, introduced into England, etc.
The humble-bees, or bumble-bees, of which about 40 species are found in Great Britain and over 60 in North America, belong to the genus bombus, which is almost world-wide in its distribution. Some bees, from their manner of nesting, are known as "mason bees," "carpenter bees," and "upholsterer bees." Some of these bees (genus osmia) cement particles of sand or gravel together with a viscid substance in forming their nests; others make burrows in wood. The leaf-cutter or upholsterer bee (genus megachile) lines its burrow with bits of leaf cut out in regular shapes.
The finest honey for export is gathered from hives where white clover and bass wood are accessible, although golden rod and buckwheat blossoms afford an excellent yield. The States producing the largest amount of honey are, in the order named, California, Texas, Michigan, Iowa and Wisconsin. The total production exceeds 60,000,000 pounds annually.