Bee

''This is an article about the stinging bee found in trees. For the less harmful variety found around flowers, please see honeybee.''

Bees are in every game. They are an insect in the that fall, in beehives, from shaken trees. Bees chase the player that shakes the tree (the reaction beforehand is one of shock) until they either take cover in a building, catch the bee, or get stung. If stung, the player's left eye will swell up. They are worth 2,500 Bells in Animal Crossing City Folk and 4,500 Bells in all of the other games. Five bee hives are generated every day, but don't fall when the gate is open. The Player will require medicine or can simply save and end the game to be healed. Villagers will remark on a stung player's appearance if they have been stung, some reacting in fright (like Marina); some like Portia, chiding the Player for that attack (adding insult to injury); while cranky villagers outright laugh at the player in amusement. If a bee hive falls from a tree and the player goes to talk to a villager, they will notice the bees in the air and say something in fear. i.e., "Get away from me!"

Catching the Bee
The player must walk around and shake various trees, making sure there is room around the tree for a nest to fall, a large space directly north to run in, and that the player has their net ready to be accessed quickly. When a beehive falls and the character receives the comical shock expression, they must run north and quickly switch to the net. This will always cause the player to face south. The bees too will fly north to sting the player, and as soon as they appear at the very bottom of the screen, the player must swing their net. If their timing is right, the bees will be caught.

Another tactic is shaking and running around the tree in the direction away from the nest, making sure that the player does not run too early or the bees will come out of the nest and attack in the direction they are running. At about the '10 o'clock position', they must stop, equip your net and rapidly hit the the 'A' button. A player must swing their net the instant they return to the screen from their equipment.

Equipping the net is much easier in because the net can be equipped with the touch of a button on the D-Pad; it is not necessary to go to the equipment screen, saving the player time.

They are above all the most difficult to catch in the game, in terms of strategy and speed.

In Animal Crossing
''"Why, I'd imagine it took more than a bit of skill and daring to catch bees! You've got 'moxie,' as I believe they say. I'm certain you must have been stung numerous times. How terribly painful that must have been, eh wot? Incidentally, do you know how some honeybees protect their hives when attacked by giant wasps? The giant wasps can't survive heats above 113 degrees, but the honeybees can live at heats up to 122 degrees. The canny honeybees use this nine-degree difference to their fullest advantage, wot! When the wasps arrive, the bees attack them en masse. A single wasp may be swarmed by up to 500 bees! Now this is truly amazing. The bees then begin to vibrate, creating a veritable cocoon of suffocating heat. Do you see the genius at work here? This swarming is but a feverish defense against the giant wasps' weakness. The temperature? Hoo hoo! Lo and behold, 120 degrees! Just below the bees own threshold of survival! In this incredible fashion, the honeybees literally lay their lives on the line to protect the hive. Stupendous! To be honest, I learned that from a wee documentary I saw on the telly! Of course, incredible feats go only so far. When all is said and done, they're still insects, and still ghastly!"''

In Wild World
"I once thought that its stinger was a bee's lone defense, but... ...I've recently heard that they also possess terribly replusive breath! Of course, the gent who told me this was a bit of a rabit liar, but still! I would heartly endorse the following action if you see another: FLEE LIKE MAD! Stingers and bad breath, honestly! What monstrous little beasties..."

In City Folk
"It can be quite dangerous to receive a large dose of bee venom-- for example, by being stung. That said, did you know that same substance is actually used in some women's perfumes? Indeed! A potent venom and a potent perfume... Which do you suppose is more devastating, wot?"

The bee can be found flying from tree to tree along the back wall of the museum's insect exhibit.

Further Information
Apis cerana japonica, the Asiatic honey bee, is a hardy species of bee that originates from South-Eastern Asia. It is used commercially for its honey, despite having a smaller yield than its European counterpart, Apis mellifera. Mellifera has, however, been subject to selective breeding for many centuries, greatly increasing honey output over the years.

Cerana can survive at temperatures of as low as -0.1ºC and heights of up to 3,500 meters.

An interesting form of defense in the case of the Asiatic honey bee against a specific predator, the, involves swarming around the hornet. This raises the hornet's temperature, overheating and subsequently killing it.