bee, wasp, hornet
蜂 centers on stinging flying insects: bees, wasps, and hornets. The character groups them under one insect-related idea.
蜂 combines the insect radical 虫 with 夆, which likely contributes the sound ホウ. The character originally referred to bees and similar stinging insects.
The insect radical 虫 on the left tells you it's a bug, and the right side 夆 looks like a busy hive with a pointed stinger. Picture a bee flying out of that hive.
For ホウ, imagine a bee buzzing with a deep 'hoo' sound as it flies: hoo -> ホウ, and the bee's hum fills the air.
bee; wasp; hornet
honey
honeybee (Apis sp.); honey bee
uprising; revolt
beehive; hive; honeycomb
beekeeping; apiculture
queen bee; queen wasp
hummingbird (Trochilidae family)
worker bee
gall wasp (any insect of family Cynipidae)
Anna's woodpecker (Calypte anna)
bumblebee (Bombus sp.); bumble bee
gall wasp (any insect of family Cynipidae)
phlegmon in floor of oral cavity; Ludwig's angina
ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris)
digger wasp
scoliid wasp (any wasp of family Scoliidae)
Vespula flaviceps (species of yellowjacket)
mining bee (of family Andrenidae)
ichneumon wasp (Ichneumonidae spp.); ichneumon fly