Viewed up close, the Western honeybee spotted around Arkansas is actually an attractive insect.
Also known as the European honeybee, this insect's got deep, dark compound eyes. Translucent wings and black forelimbs. And how about those bristles, known as setae, which give honeybees a furry appearance?
The honeybee's looks were not, though, what inspired Rep. Albert "Tom" Collier of Jackson County to introduce Act 49 to the General Assembly in 1973, asking that the honeybee be designated as the state insect of Arkansas.
No, Collier, who died in 2004, was more focused on praising the tiny yet industrious Apis mellifera for being a busy bee as it hopped from flower to flower, equating the insect with the hardworking men and women of Arkansas.
Act 49 reads, in part, that "the honeybee is a diligent and willing worker and in this respect typifies the outstanding citizens of the state of Arkansas."
"Honeybees are extremely productive and demonstrate an unusual degree of conservation in carrying out their highly complicated purposes and duties; and ... honeybees are outstanding keepers of their homes and are willing to defend their homes against all intruders."
The act ends by noting that without honeybees, pollination of agricultural crops would be "severely reduced" and possibly result in a substantial shortage of food.
This work ethic -- and not dashing good looks -- is what earned the honeybee its designation as "the official state insect for the state of Arkansas" on Feb. 1, 1973.
-- Shea Stewart
HomeStyle on 04/23/2016