Bees

From Tolkien Gateway
Ground Bee portrayed in MERP

Bees were buzzing domestic insects kept for their ability to make honey. Particularly famous were those of Beorn, which reached an enormous size.[1] The fine Shire weather of summer and autumn in T.A. 3018 was such that "honey was dripping in the combs".[2]

In Qenya, the word for "honey bee" is nier (nies-), and "a bee" is nion or nier. The Gnomish word for "a bee" is nios or nio (niwin is "a female bee", and niosturwin means "queen bee").[3][4]

Portrayal in adaptations[edit | edit source]

1982-97: Middle-earth Role Playing:

Ground Bees, producers of honey, are relatives of the yellow jackets and true bees. Due to their large numbers, the Ground Bees pose a threat to characters.[5]

2022: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power:

In the third episode of the first season, it is revealed during Sadoc Burrows's speech of remembrance that one Harfoot, Blovo Bolgerbuck, was lost during a previous migration due to bees. The other Harfoots loved him, but considered him to be an ijit.

See also[edit | edit source]

References

  1. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, "Queer Lodgings"
  2. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "Three is Company"
  3. J.R.R. Tolkien, "Qenyaqetsa: The Qenya Phonology and Lexicon", in Parma Eldalamberon XII (edited by Carl F. Hostetter, Christopher Gilson, Arden R. Smith, and Patrick H. Wynne), p. 65
  4. J.R.R. Tolkien, "I-Lam na-Ngoldathon: The Grammar and Lexicon of the Gnomish Tongue", in Parma Eldalamberon XI (edited by Christopher Gilson, Arden R. Smith, and Patrick H. Wynne), p. 60
  5. Ruth Sochard Pitt, Jeff O'Hare, Peter C. Fenlon, Jr. (1994), Creatures of Middle-earth (2nd edition) (#2012), p. 36