WARNING: A lot of bee puns in this article.

There is some news buzzin' in the state capitol. Iowa lawmakers are considering making the honeybee the official insect of Iowa.

According to the Des Moines Register, a senate subcommittee advanced a bill to give the honeybee the title of state insect on Wednesday. This sweet proposal is headed to the full Senate State Government Committee on Thursday to officially be voted on.

Lawmakers in Iowa have proposed adding a state insect multiple times before. The ladybug and different types of butterflies have been considered, but those proposals were stung in the process. 16 other states have given in to the sweet nectar of honeybees by naming it their state's respective sole insect, or as one of their many state insects. The other states that have the honeybee as their state insect include, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Vermont, and West Virginia.

The Senate Join Resolution makes it case to make honeybees the official insect of Iowa honeybees. The proposed bill says bees pollinate approximately 75% of the fruit, nut, and vegetable plants grown in the United States. A third of the food produced in the United States depends on insect pollination, 80% of which is due to honeybees.

Honeybees play a delicious and financial role in Iowa’s agroecosystem. Plant pollination performed by honeybees is valued at an estimated $92 million annually. There is approximately 4,500 Iowa beekeepers that manage around 45,000 colonies of honeybees that produce over 4 million pounds of honey annually.

Iowa and Michigan are the only 2 states left in the United States that does not have an official insect for it's state. Will Iowa become the 49th state to join the hive of states with an official state insect? We'll have to wait and sting... I mean see. It also is pretty fitting that the honeybee is yellow and black because you know, it's a Hawkeye state...

The official insect of Illinois is the Monarch butterfly.

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