How does the author incorporate bee's life understanding into the novel's plot?

The bees are an important motif in this novel. They are a symbol that occurs throughout the novel and represents Lily’s life. In the beginning of the novel, imaginary bees come to her room and give her a signal that she should leave T. Ray. She follows the trail of the honey label to Tiburon and discovers the truth about her mother. In Tiburon, she lives in the honey house and becomes a beekeeper. She tells August that one of her favorite things is bees. The bees are present for every important decision that Lily must make in the novel. She licks honey from Zach’s finger and realizes she is in love with him. When the bees are resting on her body, she realizes she loves August.

The Boatright family is like a hive of bees. They have a “queen” bee that cares for the other bees. They are a female community that helps Lily understand that she is cared for and nurtured. They help Lily discover who she is. Although in the beginning of the novel, Rosaleen tells Lily that bees are an omen of death, they become an omen of life for Lily in the end.

How does the understanding of a bee interweave into the plot of The Secret Life of Bees?

From the beginning, when Lily thinks she sees bees in her room, the bee is connected to the story of the humans. Each chapter begins with a fact about bees from a nonfiction beekeeping book. Within the chapter, some connection between insect and human is made. Bees are an integral part of nature with both good, healing properties (like August) and bad, the stinging quality, like June's bitterness.

The patterns of bee behavior and their mystical seeming nature tie in with people well. Most people are drones, carrying out their assigned roles in life. Only a few can be the queen, who brings life through motherhood. She gives purpose to her family. This is the talented person in life whose skills touch many, as August did. Bees live in colonies; humans in family and towns. Both are essential to the homing instincts of bees and people. Though many people may object to being compared to insects, we follow much the same patterns.