By artistic conventions, it looks like the bee is. The bee has long eyelashes, and the bird is sitting in a recliner with a newspaper. By biology, they are both female. The bee has a stinger, and the bird is dull grey in color.
I hope Beetle Bailey and Hi and Lois will both be discontinued. I don’t know of any strip that has successfully been continued by new talent. Hagar the Horrible is horrible, and Blondie is as dull as dishwater. It’s better to make room for fresh new talent with original strips than to zombify old strips after the death of their creators.
Since this is an old strip, it is the future now. Coming from the future, that’s not what electronic books look like. They are rectangular and ergonomic, and they are one of the nicest things about the future. Also, infrared heating beats fireplaces.
Probably inspired by /r/crappydesign on Reddit.