F or
those of us interested in linguistics, Robert E. Snodgrass? 1956 book Anatomy of the Honey Bee reads:
I s it honey bee or honeybee?
Regardless of dictionaries, we have in entomology a rule for insect common names that can be followed. I t says: I f the insect is what the name implies, write the two words separately; otherwise run them together. Thus we have such names as house fly, blow fly, and robber fly contrasted with dragonfly, caddicefly, and butterfly, because the latter are not flies, just as an aphislion is not a lion and a silverfish is not a fish. The honey bee is an insect and is preeminently a bee; ?honeybee? is equivalent to ?Johnsmith.? Here?s another: I n 2008?s Fruitless Fall Rowan Jacobsen writes: Copyeditors of the world beware. The spelling of insect names in this book follows the rules of the Entomological Society of America, not Merriam-Webster?s. W hen a species is a true example of a particular taxon, that taxon is written separately. Honey bees and bumble bees are true bees, and black flies are true flies. A yellowjacket, however, is not a true jacket. Entomologists, who have to read the names of bugs a lot more than the rest of us do, would appreciate it if we all followed these rules. 19