Regardless of dictionaries, we have in entomology a rule for insect common names that can be followed. It says: If 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.”

—From Anatomy of the Honey Bee by Robert E. Snodgrass

The non-native European Honey Bee is the state insect of:

Arkansas
Georgia
Kansas
Louisiana
Maine
Mississippi
Missouri
Nebraska
New Jersey
North Carolina
Oklahoma
South Dakota
Tennessee
Utah
Vermont
West Virginia
Wisconsin

Not one native bee is a state insect. The closest relative of a North American native bee to make the list is the Tarantula Hawk Wasp, the state insect of New Mexico.

Minnesota now has a state bee as well as a state insect. Bombus affinis, the Rusty-Patched Bumble Bee, has been so honored. Good work, Minnesota!

Connecticut’s state insect is the European “praying” mantis. Although they are beneficial insects, they are not native to North America.

Archive - March 2010

Why feed sugar syrup to honey bees?

We must take care of our pollinators

More on painting bee hives

Have you had your pesticide today?

What bumble bee is this?

What is pollenkitt?

Newly hatched mason bee showing ocelli

Why bees pollinate plants that don’t need it

Mason bees are not the answer

How to use a slatted rack

Do beekeepers smoke bees with marijuana?

Heater bees keep the brood nest warm

Pollinators and vegetable gardens

Tips for planting a pollinator garden

Pollinator-friendly plants

Poisoning of honey bee larvae