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Official State Insects (insects, butterflies, bugs)

This page offers an all inclusive list of insect symbols regardless of the specific designation of each state. You'll see that some of the insects on the list were not designated as state insects but as state butterflies and even state bugs.

The Insect categories option below offers lists by specific official designation. The Insects specifically list shows only those insects that were officially designated as official insects. The butterflies specifically list shows only those that were designated as official butterflies. The Bugs specifically list shows only those that were designated as official bugs.

Official insects, butterflies, and bugs listed by state. (List by state or year)
StateList by state Name Designated as Year
Alabama Eastern Tiger swallowtail Official mascot and butterfly 1989
Alabama Monarch butterfly Official insect 1989
Alabama Queen honey bee Official agricultural insect 2015
Alaska Four spot skimmer dragonfly Official State insect 1995
Arizona Two-tailed swallowtail Official State butterfly 2001
Arkansas Honeybee Official State insect 1973
Arkansas Diana fritillary butterfly Official butterfly 2007
California California dogface butterfly Official State insect 1972
Colorado Colorado Hhirstreak butterfly State insect 1996
Connecticut European or "praying" mantis State insect 1997
Delaware Tiger swallowtail Official butterfly 1974
Delaware Ladybug Official State bug 1974
Florida Zebra longwing Official State butterfly 1996
Georgia Honeybee State of Georgia's official insect 1975
Georgia Tiger swallowtail Official Georgia State butterfly 1988
Hawaii Pulelehua (Kamehameha butterfly) Official insect 2009
Idaho Monarch butterfly State insect 1992
Illinois Monarch butterfly Official State insect 1975
Indiana [ None ]    
Iowa [ None ]    
Kansas Honeybee Official insect 1976
Kentucky Viceroy butterfly State butterfly 1990
Kentucky Honeybee State agricultural insect 2010
Louisiana Honeybee Official State insect 1977
Maine Honeybee Official insect 1975
Maryland Baltimore checkerspot butterfly State insect 1973
Massachusetts Ladybug Insect or insect emblem 1990
Michigan [ None ]    
Minnesota Monarch butterfly Official butterfly 2000
Mississippi Honeybee State insect 1980
Mississippi Spicebush swallowtail State butterfly 1991
Missouri Honey bee Official insect 1985
Montana Mourning cloak Official Montana State butterfly 2001
Nebraska Honeybee Official State insect 1975
Nevada Vivid dancer damselfly Official state insect 2009
New Hampshire Ladybug Official State insect 1977
New Hampshire Karner blue butterfly Official State butterfly 1992
New Jersey Honey bee New Jersey State bug 1974
New Jersey Black swallowtail butterfly (Papilio polyxenes) State butterfly 2016
New Mexico Tarantula hawk wasp Official insect 1989
New Mexico Sandia hairstreak Official butterfly 2003
New York Lady bug Official insect 1989
North Carolina Honeybee Official State insect 1973
North Carolina Eastern tiger swallowtail Official State butterfly 2012
North Dakota Convergent lady beetle (ladybug) Hippodamia convergens Official insect 2011
Ohio Ladybug State insect 1975
Oklahoma Honeybee Official insect 1992
Oklahoma Black swallowtail State butterfly 1996
Oregon Oregon swallowtail butterfly Official insect 1979
Pennsylvania Firefly Official insect 1974
Rhode Island American burying beetle Official state insect 2015
South Carolina Carolina mantid Official insect 1988
South Carolina Tiger swallowtail Official butterfly 1994
South Dakota Honeybee Official insect 1978
Tennessee Firefly Official insect 1975
Tennessee Ladybug Official insect 1975
Tennessee Honeybee Official agricultural insect 1990
Tennessee Zebra swallowtail Official State butterfly 1994
Texas Monarch butterfly Official State insect 1995
Texas Western honey bee Official state pollinator of Texas 2015
Utah Honeybee State insect 1983
Vermont Honeybee State insect 1977
Vermont Monarch butterfly State butterfly 1987
Virginia Tiger swallowtail butterfly Official insect 1991
Washington Green darner dragonfly Official insect 1997
West Virginia Monarch butterfly Official State butterfly 1995
West Virginia Honey bee Official state insect 2002
Wisconsin Honeybee State insect 1977
Wyoming Sheridan's green hairstreak Official State butterfly 2009
1st place ribbon What "insect" or "butterfly" holds top honors as the most popular among the 50 states? If you guessed that it was California's dogface butterfly you would be wrong. If you found that it was the Honeybee, you would be right. Seventeen states have adopted the Honeybee as their official state insect. Can you guess why?
2nd place ribbon A distant second, the monarch butterfly makes a strong showing with seven states designating this beautiful insect as either an official state "insect" or an official state "butterfly."
3rd place ribbon The friendly ladybug makes a showing as official in six states.
Simon & Schuster Children's Guide to Insects and Spiders
Children's Guide to
Insects and Spiders
Jinny Johnson

Simon & Schuster Children's Guide to Insects and Spiders , by Jinny Johnson. 64 pages. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing (May 1, 1997) Reading level: Ages 4-8.

A detailed introduction to spiders and insects contains information about every major group of arachnids and insects, hundreds of thought-provoking facts, and full-color pictures and photographs."
Insect
Insect
Laurence Mound

Insect, by Laurence Mound. 72 pages. Publisher: DK Publishing, Inc. (June 25, 2007) Reading level: Ages 8+.

Full-color photos. "Sure to attract browsers and students researching assignments, Insect explores the anatomy, behavior, and ecology of those creatures, with a heavy emphasis on popular species. Each double-page spread consists of concise, yet lively and readable text and numerous excellent-quality captioned photos, drawings, and diagrams." --School Library Journal
For Love of Insects
For love
of Insects
Thomas Eisner

For Love of Insects, by Thomas Eisner. 464 pages. Publisher: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press (October 31, 2005)

Imagine beetles ejecting defensive sprays as hot as boiling water; female moths holding their mates for ransom; caterpillars disguising themselves as flowers by fastening petals to their bodies; termites emitting a viscous glue to rally fellow soldiers--and you will have entered an insect world once beyond imagining, a world observed and described down to its tiniest astonishing detail by Thomas Eisner. The story of a lifetime of such minute explorations, For Love of Insects celebrates the small creatures that have emerged triumphant on the planet, the beneficiaries of extraordinary evolutionary inventiveness and unparalleled reproductive capacity.
Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity
Insects
Stephen A. Marshall

Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity, by Stephen A. Marshall. 736 pages. Publisher: Firefly Books; Updated edition (June 2006)

With a Photographic Guide to Insects of Eastern North America

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.

Insects enables readers to identify most insects quickly and accurately. The more than 50 pages of picture keys lead to the appropriate chapter and specific photos to confirm identification. The keys are surprisingly comprehensive and easy for non-specialists to use.
Garden Insects of North America
Garden Insects
of North America
by Whitney Cranshaw

Garden Insects of North America: The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Bugs, by Whitney Cranshaw. 672 pages. Princeton University Press (March 8, 2004)

Garden Insects of North America is the most comprehensive and user-friendly guide to the common insects and mites affecting yard and garden plants in North America. In a manner no previous book has come close to achieving, through full-color photos and concise, clear, scientifically accurate text, it describes the vast majority of species associated with shade trees and shrubs, turfgrass, flowers and ornamental plants, vegetables, and fruits--1,420 of them, including crickets, katydids, fruit flies, mealybugs, moths, maggots, borers, aphids, ants, bees, and many, many more.