www.alphadictionary.com

This word sounds very Germanic but I wonder whether it is related to French abeille.

I've always liked the phrase 'bee in one's bonnet'. Come to find out, it used to mean twitter-pated or a bit crazy, not just somewhat obsessing over something.

Excellent suggestion, tkowal.

A Google search reveals this:

Bee is derived from the Old English bēn meaning “a prayer, a favor.” By the late eighteenth century, bee had become commonly associated with the British dialect form, been or bean, referring to the joining of neighbors to work on a single activity to help a neighbor in need: sewing bee, quilting bee, etc.

So! Does this suggest that (fascinatingly) the working bee that we do at our children's school at the weekend (well, used to do) precedes the buzzing bee?