Bee

The bee is a swarming hive insect native to Opal territory. Queen Bee and her son Steven are known for their close relationship to their bees.

Tales of Deltora
A swarm of bees inhabited the place of the spirits on the shores of the Hira Plains. When Adin, who had rested the night before in the abandoned house, made his way to Hira, the bees followed after him and swarmed around him without stinging. This convinced the leaders of Hira to listen to him about the Belt of Deltora.

During the Battle for Deltora, a swarm of bees from the place of the spirits fought on the side of Adin by stinging Greers and driving them into a frenzy.

The Shifting Sands
When Lief, Barda, and Jasmine ate some apples from Queen Bee's orchard, she summoned a swarm of bees to sting the companions to death. However, she relented when Jasmine dropped their money bag and quickly accepted the gold as payment. When Lief tried to stop her, the bees threatened him. Queen Bee explained that even she didn't have full control over her bees and had to use smoke to collect their honey.

Later, in the Shifting Sands, Lief had a dream where he was being swarmed by bees and remembered Queen Bee's advice on using smoke. This would save his life when he retrieved the Lapis Lazuli from the Hive.

Return To Del
After the companions rebuilt the Belt of Deltora, Queen Bee used her bees to sent a message to Manus, telling him to go to Withick Mire.

Isle of the Dead
Steven heard from his mother's bees that the vine-weaver birds of the Os-Mine Hills spoke of Lief heading into the caverns beneath Deltora. At first he did not know what they meant until he came across Doom and Lindal and learned that Lief, Jasmine and Barda were missing.

Shadowgate
Steven toured around Deltora's north with Queen Bee's hive in order to find better flowers for them to feed on. He later gave his horse Mellow a bottle of Queen Bee Cider so she could command the bees to fly him, Lief, Barda, and Jasmine to the funnel in order to chase the outlaw Laughing Jack.

The Sister of the South
Steven used Mellow and the bees to bring himself, Doom, Gers, and Lindal to the plains of the rats to stop the grey tide. They arrived just as the seven dragons finished destroying the tide.

Habitat
Bees are most commonly found in Opal territory, though they most likely live all over Deltora.

Anatomy
Bees are insects with six legs and wings.

Behaviour
Bees are normally calm when left alone, but will rise into a swarm if provoked. The only way to calm the swarm is with smoke, which makes the bees lethargic and less likely to sting.

Bees domesticated by the plains tribe show a higher level of intelligence than wild ones. They can follow complex commands, such as sending messages over long distances, and defending their owners with ferocity. However, their owners still need to use smoke to recover honey from their hives.

Uses
Some members of Deltora have managed to domesticate bees in order to farm their honey. One individual, Queen Bee, raises bees who's honey has special healing properties.