Giant bee

Giant bees, or monstrous bees, were extra-large varieties of their smaller cousins.

Description
Giant bees could reach lengths of about.

Like their tiny cousins, giant bees came in multiple varieties, including honeybees and bumblebees. Bumblebees were larger.

Behavior
Giant bees were not ordinarily aggressive, unless they were acting in defense.

Abilities
Like normal-sized bees, a giant bee could inject a poison into another creature, but pulling away from the sting would result in the death of the giant bee. Giant bee venom weakened the general constitution of one stung, without harming the targets strength or agility. The venom of a giant bumblebee was stronger for giant soldier honeybees and giant bumblebees, and the poison from a queen was stronger still.

Giant bees were very skilled at orienting themselves in their environment.

Sub-Species

 * Upper Planes Giant Bee: Giant bees that lived in the Upper Planes were celestial creatures, and more intelligent than normal giant bees. They served the good-aligned deities, being particularly favored by the halfling goddess Sheela Peryroyl, and were capable of being summoned for short periods of time by spellcasters with the spell Summon monster II.

Ecology
Giant bees maintained small hives, numbering up to 20 individuals in typical situations, but some giant honeybees had much larger hives numbering up to ten times that amount in workers with up to a dozen soldiers, two to five drones, and a single queen. Giant bumblebees kept burrowed nests instead of hives, with up to a dozen individuals.

Habitats
They could be found in parts of Kara-Tur.

Usages
Like smaller bees, giant bees produced honey. A chunk of honey known as "bee bread" was capable of providing daily nourishment for a typical humanoid. In rare cases, a variety known as "royal jelly" was found, which was said to have mild healing and curative properties and even the ability to slow aging! Jars of this coveted unguent could cost between 3,000 and 8,000 gold pieces.

Trivia

 * Magical amber amulets of vermin were sometimes crafted on Toril that contained a small bee that would grow into a giant bee when the amulet was broken.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Curse of the Azure Bonds • Dungeon #87, "The Raiders of Galath's Roost"