The word "bee" is spelled with the letters b-e-e. In International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), it is transcribed as /biː/. The first sound of the word is the voiced bilabial consonant /b/, which is followed by the long vowel sound /iː/. The second "e" in the word is silent and is not pronounced. Bees are important pollinators that play a crucial role in maintaining the balance of nature. Learning how to spell their name correctly is the first step in appreciating their significance.
A bee is a small flying insect, typically with a plump body covered in dense hair and striped in black and yellow. Bees are primarily known for their important role in the pollination of plants. They belong to the order Hymenoptera, which includes wasps, bees, and ants, and are specifically classified under the superfamily Apoidea.
Bees are social creatures that live in colonies consisting of a queen, drones, and worker bees. The queen is the largest bee in the colony and is responsible for laying eggs. Drones are male bees that mate with the queen but do not have stingers or the ability to gather pollen or nectar. Worker bees are sterile females that perform various tasks within the hive, such as building and maintaining the honeycomb, collecting food, and defending the colony.
Bees' primary sources of nutrition are nectar and pollen, which they collect from flowers. While gathering nectar, bees inadvertently pick up pollen on their bodies, which they then transfer from flower to flower, facilitating cross-pollination and the reproduction of plants.
Apart from their ecological importance, bees are also known for their ability to produce honey, a sweet substance stored in the honeycomb made from nectar. Humans have been harvesting honey from bees for thousands of years for consumption and various uses.
Bees communicate through a series of dances and rely on their highly developed sense of vision to navigate and find food. Some species of bees, such as bumblebees, have the ability to sting as a defensive mechanism when they perceive a threat. However, it is important to note that not all bees have stingers, and only female bees possess this defensive feature.
An insect of the genus A pis; the honey-bee, A. mellifica, is the source of honey and wax.
A practical medical dictionary. By Stedman, Thomas Lathrop. Published 1920.
An insect that makes honey and wax; an industrious and careful person.
Etymological and pronouncing dictionary of the English language. By Stormonth, James, Phelp, P. H. Published 1874.
* The statistics data for these misspellings percentages are collected from over 15,411,110 spell check sessions on www.spellchecker.net from Jan 2010 - Jun 2012.
The word "bee" can be traced back to the Old English word "bēo", which referred to the insect known as a bee. This Old English term shares common roots with other Germanic languages, such as Old High German "bīa" and Old Norse "bȳ". The ultimate origin of the word is uncertain, but it is believed to have developed from a Proto-Indo-European root word that imitated the buzzing sound of bees. This root word is thought to be "*bhei-", which also gave rise to words like Latin "fētus" (beetle) and Greek "phēgōs" (woodworm).