Mississippi State Insect
European Honeybee (common name) Apis mellifera (scientific name) Overview Honeybees are one of the most common insects in the world. They are extremely important in agriculture for their ability to pollinate plants and also contribute to the economy in terms of honey and beeswax. The European honeybee was named the state insect of Kansas (in 1976), Louisiana (1977), North Carolina (1973), Maine (1975), Missouri (1985), Nebraska (1975), New Jersey (1974), Utah (1983), Mississippi (1980), Georgia (1975), South Dakota (1978), and Wisconsin (1977). Close-up STATUS Official PHYSICAL DETAILS Honeybees have compound eyes comprised of hundreds of smaller eyes called ommatidia. Worker bees are 0.37-0.62 inches (9–18 mm) in length and have a pollen basket on their hind legs, four pairs of beeswax-secreting glands on their abdomen, and an extra stomach for storing nectar and honey. Only females have stingers that they use when threatened. Worker stingers can be used only once, unlike those of queen bees. Worker bees are golden brown and black in color with a black head and patches of pale orange. Their abdomens and wings are covered with yellow bands and their entire bodies are covered with tiny hairs. Queen bees are much larger (0.75 inches or 20mm) than other bees and have a longer abdomen. Larvae: Eggs hatch after three days into a white larva. After another six days they become pupae. LIFESPAN The queen bee lives as long as five years. Drones live for eight weeks. Worker bees born in summer live for around 6 weeks, and those born during the fall live until the next spring. HABITAT Range: Honeybees are found all over the world except Antarctica. Flight period: Most active during spring and summer. Conservation status: Least concern BEHAVIOR Honeybees are very social in nature and exist in a very structured social system that has three specialized groups: the queens, the drones, and the workers. Each of these "castes" has their own function. The queen’s main function is to lay eggs, and she can lay more than 1,500 eggs per day. Drones exist only to mate with the queen bee and either die or are driven away at the end of the season. Worker bees take care of building and maintaining the hive and honey comb and also take care of the queen and defend the hive. Older workers, also known as field bees, gather nectar, water, pollen and plant resins that are used to build hives. Once the bee colony gets a new queen, it subdivides in a process known as "swarming," during which the old queen moves out with half of the bees to build a new colony. Honeybees are not usually aggressive, but they react when their hive is under attack. Eggs have to be incubated at 94 degrees Fahrenheit (34 degrees Celsius), and the bees maintain this temperature by depositing water and fanning the hive with their wings during hot weather. In winter, they cluster close together to generate heat.   DIET Adults: Flower nectar and pollen form the main diet for honeybees. Larvae: Young queen bees are fed a special jelly that is made using glands in the heads of the worker bees. Only bees that are fed this special "royal jelly" develop into queens. TRIVIA The size of honeybees depends on the size of their colonies. Smaller colonies have just one large queen and tiny other bees, but as the summer ends, bigger honeybees are produced due to larger colonies. Only one queen reigns over a hive. The other weaker queens are stung to death by the reigning queen bee or by the workers. Unfertilized eggs become drones. Hive activity is regulated by a scent produced by the queen bee.
	Click to enlarge an image Honeybee Harvesting Nectar Crowded Beehive Frontal View of Honeybee Honeybee Depositing Nectar in Honeycomb Honeybee with Tongue Extended Beekeeper Checks His Hive CLASSIFICATION Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Hymenoptera Family: Apidae Genus: Apis Species: A. mellifera
	Author: World Trade Press

Mississippi State Butterfly
Spicebush Swallowtail (common name) Papilio troilus (scientific name) Overview The spicebush swallowtail is a black butterfly with a long tail on its hind wings. It was declared the state butterfly of Mississippi in 1991. It gets its name from the spicebush, which, along with the sassafras, is one of the most commonly used host plants for the butterfly’s caterpillar. Swallowtails are one of the largest and common butterflies with some 600 species worldwide and more than 30 species in North America alone. The hind wings are bright green in males and an iridescent blue in females. Close-up PHYSICAL DETAILS Wingspan: 3–4 in (7.6–10 cm). Larvae: Young swallowtail caterpillars resemble bird droppings. They molt into a light green or brown color with two prominent "eye spots." When the larvae enters the pupa stage it wraps itself in a brown or green chrysalis that looks like a leaf or branch. The cocoon is held upright via a silken thread around the middle called a "girdle." Swallowtails overwinter as a chrysalis, emerging as an adult butterfly in the spring. LIFESPAN Two to 14 days HABITAT Deciduous forests, pine barrens, woody swamps, woodland edges, and gardens near the woods. Range: Eastern North America from southern Ontario to Cuba. From Manitoba to central Texas in the western part of the range. Flight period: Early May to early October Conservation status: Least Concern BEHAVIOR Flies low and fast through shaded areas. Between April and October male swallowtails breed daily, patrolling to locate females. Females search out plants on which to lay their eggs by sight and smell. Once a suitable one is located, they land on a leaf and beat it with their forelegs to taste it and confirm it is the correct type of plant. Spicebush swallowtail eggs (round and whitish green in color) are laid one at a time on the undersides of leaves. DIET Adults: Flower nectar (honeysuckle, clover, bee balm, thistle, jewelweed, milkweed, azalea, dogbane, mimosa, and sweet pepperbush). Larvae: Leaves of the spicebush, sassafras, camphor tree, and red bay. TRIVIA When frightened, the spicebush swallowtail caterpillar thrusts out a reddish-orange forked gland behind its head called the "osmeterium," which releases a foul odor that deters predators.
	Click to enlarge an image Spicebush Swallowtail Butterfly Side View of Spicebush Swallowtail CLASSIFICATION Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Lepidoptera Family: Papilionidae Subfamily: Papilionidae Tribe: Papilionini Genus: Papilio Species: P. troilus
	Author: World Trade Press