Vermont State Insect

Honeybee Apis mellifera Effective: February 17, 1978

Vermont State Insect: Honeybee
Photographs, posters, prints

Legislation signed by Governor Richard A. Snelling named the honeybee the state insect of Vermont.

No. 124 of the Acts of 1978, effective July 1, 1978 [sic], designated the Honeybee as the official State Insect.

This "social" insect, which grows and lives in highly organized colonies, is important to Vermont farmers and orchardists by being a principal pollinator of certain of their crops. But it is best known, of course, for the pleasant-tasting and healthful honey which it produces.

Though they represent a relatively small part of the state's agricultural economy, Vermont beekeepers generally produce several hundred thousand pounds of honey each year.

------- from Office of the Secretary of State,
Vermont Legislative Directory and State Manual,
Biennial Session, 1993-1994, p. 17.

Vermont Law

The following information was excerpted from the Vermont Statutes Annotated, Title 1, Chapter 11, Section 502.

TITLE ONE. GENERAL PROVISIONS
CHAPTER 11. FLAG, INSIGNIA, SEAL, ETC.

1 V.S.A. § 502 (2012)

§ 502. State insect

The state insect shall be the honeybee.

HISTORY: Added 1977, No. 124 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Feb. 17, 1978.

Sources...

"Vermont Statutes Annotated." LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.. LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc., n.d. Web. 22 Feb 2012. .
"Vermont Emblems, Facts and Figures." Vermont Department of Libraries. State of Vermont, n.d. Web. 22 Feb 2012. .
Shearer, Benjamin F. and Barbara S. State Names, Seals, Flags and Symbols: A Historical Guide Third Edition, Revised and Expanded. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 3 Sub edition, 2001.

Additional Information

Vermont State Insect: Honeybee
Photographs, posters, prints

Apis mellifera, honey bee: BioKIDS Critter Catalog from a partnership of the University of Michigan School of Education, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, and the Detroit Public Schools.

Honeybee: Great Plains Nature Center, Wichita, Kansas.

Honeybee Apis mellifera: National Geographic Society: Animals.

Apis mellifera honey bee: The University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web.

Apis mellifera - Linnaeus, A Honeybee: A network connecting science with conservation - NatureServe Explorer: An Online Encyclopedia of Life.

Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758: Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Here you will find authoritative taxonomic information on plants, animals, fungi, and microbes of North America and the world.

State insects: Complete list of official state insects from NETSTATE.COM.

More symbols & emblems: Complete list of official Vermont state symbols from NETSTATE.COM.

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Garden Insects of North America
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Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity

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National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Insects and Spiders & Related Species of North America, by Arthur V. Evans. 496 pages. Sterling (May 31, 2007) National Wildlife Federation's new all-photographic field guide to North American insects, spiders, and related species, is the most up-to-date of its kind, and lets both amateur and expert naturalists identify more than 940 species quickly and accurately. More than 2,000 close-up color photographs by leading nature photographers reveal the field marks that distinguish each creature, and the clear and concise text that accompanies each image describes the range, habitat, life cycle, and behavior.

Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity, by Stephen A. Marshall. 736 pages. Firefly Books; Updated edition (June 2006) Meticulously researched and illustrated with color photographs, Insects is a landmark reference book that is ideal for any naturalist or entomologist. To enhance exact identification of insects, the photographs in this encyclopedic reference were taken in the field -- and are not pinned specimens.