Fucus bombum facit, quippe qui volet.

The sentence breaks down like this:

• fucus: nominative singular masculine; the subject
• bombum: accusative singular; the direct object
• facit: he/it makes, 3rd person singular present indicative
• quippe: an adverb meaning something like of course, naturally, indeed
• qui: relative pronoun, referring back to fucus
• volet: 3rd person singular future of volo, to want / be willing

So the structure is:

• main clause: fucus bombum facit
• explanatory relative clause: quippe qui volet

That last part explains or comments on the first.

Here fucus means a drone bee.

That is important because fucus can mean other things in other contexts, but in this sentence the buzzing makes it clear that the word is being used for the bee.

So a learner should not assume that fucus always means the same thing everywhere; context decides.

Because it is the direct object of facit.

Latin often uses facere with a noun of sound or action, where English might prefer a simple verb. So:

• bombum facit = literally makes a buzzing / makes a hum
• idiomatically, just buzzes

This is similar to other Latin expressions like:

• clamorem facere = make a shout / raise a shout
• strepitum facere = make a noise

So bombum is accusative because it is the thing being made.

Yes. It is perfectly normal Latin to use noun + facere where English often uses a single verb.

So instead of a one-word verb meaning to buzz, Latin here says make a buzzing sound.

This kind of phrasing is very common and natural in Latin.

quippe qui is an explanatory expression. In many contexts it means something like:

• since he is the sort of one who...
• inasmuch as he...
• seeing that he...
• for of course he...

It introduces a clause that gives the reason or natural explanation for what was just said.

So here quippe qui volet explains why the fucus does this.

A very literal feel would be something like:

• for of course, being one who wants to

But in smoother English it is just a causal explanation.

qui refers back to fucus.

Relative pronouns in Latin work like this:

• they agree with their antecedent in gender and number
• their case depends on their job inside their own clause

So here:

• antecedent = fucus
• therefore qui is masculine singular
• inside the clause qui volet, it is the subject of volet
• therefore it is nominative

That is why we get qui, not some other form.

volet is the future tense of volo.

So strictly speaking it means will want.

That may feel odd at first, because in English we might simply say wants. But Latin futures can sometimes sound broader or more natural than a strict English future. Depending on context, the force can be something like:

• will naturally want to
• is bound to want to
• wants, of course

So the future here does not have to feel like a strong time shift into the future in English.

That is a very good question, because many learners are taught that quippe qui is commonly followed by the subjunctive.

In later, more standard Classical Latin prose, you often would expect a subjunctive here, such as velit.

But this sentence is from early Latin comedy, where usage is often freer and less tied to the later textbook norms. So volet here should not surprise you too much. It is one of those places where Plautine Latin does not line up perfectly with what a beginner learns from later prose authors.

So the short version is:

• in later textbook Latin, you may expect quippe qui + subjunctive
• here, in early Latin, volet is still possible

Yes, probably.

With volo, Latin can leave the rest understood when it is obvious from context. So volet here means something like:

• wants to do so
• wants to make that sound

The missing idea is supplied by the previous clause.

English does the same thing:

• He does it because he wants to.

We do not need to repeat do it every time, and Latin often omits it too.

Not especially.

The order is quite natural for Latin:

• first the main statement: fucus bombum facit
• then the explanation: quippe qui volet

Also, putting bombum before facit is very ordinary Latin object-verb order.

So while the sentence may feel compact, its order is not strange once you see how the pieces fit together.