the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Hymenoptera > [noun] > suborder Apocrita, Petiolata, or Heterophaga > group Aculeata (stinging) > superfamily Apoidea (bees) > queen bee > tightly-packed ball of bees surrounding queen (1)
The act of encasing; the condition of being encased; spec. in Bee-keeping. Also concrete (see quot. 1884).