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Official State "Insects"

This page offers a list of only those insect symbols that were officially adopted as state insects as opposed to official state butterflies or 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" listed by adoption year. (List by state or year)
State Name Designated as YearList by adoption year
California California Dogface Butterfly Official State insect 1972
Arkansas Honeybee Official State insect 1973
Maryland Baltimore Checkerspot Butterfly State insect 1973
North Carolina Honeybee Official State insect 1973
Pennsylvania Firefly Official insect 1974
Georgia Honeybee Official Georgia State insect 1975
Illinois Monarch Butterfly Official State insect 1975
Maine Honeybee Official insect 1975
Nebraska Honeybee Official State insect 1975
Ohio Ladybug State insect 1975
Tennessee Firefly Official insect 1975
Tennessee Ladybug Official insect 1975
Kansas Honeybee Official insect 1976
Louisiana Honeybee Official State insect 1977
New Hampshire Ladybug Official State insect 1977
Vermont Honeybee State insect 1977
Wisconsin Honeybee State insect 1977
South Dakota Honeybee Official insect 1978
Oregon Oregon Swallowtail Butterfly Official insect 1979
Mississippi Honeybee State insect 1980
Utah Honeybee State insect 1983
Missouri Honey bee Official insect 1985
South Carolina Carolina Mantid Official insect 1988
Alabama Monarch Butterfly Official insect 1989
New Mexico Tarantula Hawk Wasp Official insect 1989
New York Lady bug Official insect 1989
Massachusetts Ladybug Insect or insect emblem 1990
Tennessee Honeybee Official agricultural insect 1990
Virginia Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly Official insect 1991
Idaho Monarch Butterfly State insect 1992
Oklahoma Honeybee Official insect 1992
Alaska Four Spot Skimmer Dragonfly Official State insect 1995
Texas Monarch Butterfly Official State insect 1995
Colorado Colorado Hairstreak Butterfly State insect 1996
Connecticut European or "Praying" Mantis State insect 1997
Washington Green Darner Dragonfly Official insect 1997
West Virginia Honey bee Official state insect 2002
Hawaii Pulelehua (Kamehameha butterfly) Official insect 2009
Nevada Vivid Dancer Damselfly Official state insect 2009
Kentucky Honeybee State agricultural insect 2010
North Dakota Convergent lady beetle (ladybug) Hippodamia convergens Official insect 2011
Alabama Queen honey bee Official agricultural insect 2015
Rhode Island American burying beetle Official state insect 2015
Arizona [ None ]    
Delaware [ None ]    
Florida [ None ]    
Indiana [ None ]    
Iowa [ None ]    
Michigan [ None ]    
Minnesota [ None ]    
Montana [ None ]    
New Jersey [ None ]    
Wyoming [ None ]    
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.