State Beekeeping Trivia

Why would a state name a bee as its state insect? I posed this question the other day when I was looking at some information on various states, and after finding the answer, found that bees indeed do play a major role in the economy of many states. For those of you in a quiz mood, I'll not mention the state, until the end of the article, and let you guess which one it is.

• Bees added over $21 million to this state's economy. This money went for such things as salaries, real estate purchases and vehicle purchases.
• This state ranks third in honey production in the United States. Recently over 23 Million pounds of honey was produced.
• Bees add over $10 Billion to the value of the crops they pollinate. Since modern farming methods have reduced the number of wild bees, this economic asset is provided by commercial beekeeping operations within the state.
• The crops that bees pollinate, help to provide wildlife habitats which enriches the natural environment of the state in ways that can not be calculated in dollars and cents.
• This state contributed over $50,000 to fight unfair foreign competition in the honey market. It was the first state to recognize the need to support American beekeeping enterprises by supporting fair trade practices.
• The sale of honey accounts for over 85% of the beekeeper's income in this state.
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently gave a $24,000 grant to this state's bee industry to investigate the potential of manufacturing Honey Mead as a retail item.
• Each colony in this state typically yields more than 200 pounds of honey. The national average, buy the way, is 50 - 60 pounds.

Pretty impressive statistics don't you think, and ones that you might not expect to come from one of the coldest areas of the country. In case you hadn't guessed by now, the state with all of these impressive statistics is also the state with one of our most revered landmarks, Mt. Rushmore. That's right, the state in question is South Dakota, the only state with the honey bee as it's state insect.

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