48 states have declared specific insects as “State Insects”.
https://www.si.edu/spotlight/buginfo/state-insects
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o..._state_insects
https://www.netstate.com/states/tabl...te_insects.htm
It is paradoxical that the most common state insect is the European Honey Bee. States designating the honey bee as special include Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Wisconsin.
In addition, some states have a designated “State Agricultural Insect”. These states include Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee. I may have missed a state or two, but readers get the drift.
Why the paradox? There is an inordinate and irrational focus on snakes and reptiles by state game and fish commissions and elected officials; when in fact, these same entities have chosen an invasive non-native animal to represent the states. The invasive honey bee is no longer just an agricultural enterprise. The European honey bee has established itself in most states in wild reproducing populations. The honey bee has displaced native pollinators and thereby caused certain, but not fully understood, disruptions in both the native flora and fauna chain. And, perhaps the most irrational component is that bees kill and harm far more humans each year than venomous snake bites in a decade.
Honey bee disruptions of native pollinators and harm to the environment:
“Keeping honey bees to ‘save the bees’ is like raising chickens to save birds.”
“While vital to agriculture and the economy, keeping honey bees is not wildlife conservation.”
https://www.nwf.org/Home/Magazines/N...ing/Honey-Bees
“Thus, honey bee introductions may erode longstanding plant-pollinator mutualisms, with negative consequences for plant reproduction. “
https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wi....1002/ecy.3939
“Honey bees also destabilize natural ecosystems by competing with native bees—some of which are species at risk.”
https://www.scientificamerican.com/a...th-honey-bees/
Previously on 6-27-2023 in this Forum I noted that between 2013-2022 not a single reptile keeper died from non-native snake envenomation. There were 19 such bites recorded.
While one cannot separate honey bee stings from all Hymenoptera stings, the CDC indicates that from 2011 – 2021 approximately 788 deaths occurred from such stings. That would be 78 deaths per year.
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7227a6.htm
It is estimated that over 200,000 people require medical care for stings per year in the U.S. The medical costs for such care are enormous and far exceeds medical costs for snake envenomation treatment.
https://blog.gitnux.com/bee-sting-st...20some%20cases.
The same CDC source indicates 7,000 – 8,000 venomous snake bites per year in the U.S.; of which on average less than 5 deaths occur per year. Virtually all these bites and deaths do not occur to reptile keepers. The National Institutes of Health confirm the same data and conclusions.
https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/snakes/default.html
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33046301/
It is important for those concerned about increasing regulation of the reptile keeper industry and hobby to be well informed about the “treatment” of all other fauna governed by the regulatory “experts”. Irrational statements and conclusions need to be exposed and refuted by science. Can logic prevail even with science, data, and facts?
Of course, snakes don’t make honey …….
P.s. perhaps someone will be motivated to post a thread about introduced non-native fish for recreational purposes. Some of which have become invasive; all of which have impact and imbalance on native fisheries and the food chain. Such introductions are by the various state’s game and fish commissions with governmental endorsement and authorization. Power companies in states often participate (even lead) in such non-native fish stocking.
P.s.p.s. perhaps someone will be motivated to post a thread about human deaths from cattle, horses, deer, and dogs.
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