Honey Bee Stamp

On Sept. 2, 1988, the U.S. Postal Service issued a 25-cent Honey Bee stamp. The definitive stamp was issued in coils (rolls) of 100 and 3,000 stamps. First day of issue ceremonies were held in Omaha, Nebraska -- a site that had no particular significance to the honey bee. The Postal Service chose the location and date of the stamp's release to coincide with the Omaha Stamp Show.

The honey bee is important nationally, performing 90 percent of the pollination of fruits, vegetables, and seed crops. Honey bees also are responsible nationwide for the production of some 20 million pounds of honey. To give an idea of the magnitude of the bee's industry, it has been calculated that it takes over 550 bees visiting more than 2.5 million flowers to produce a single pound of honey.

On April 18, 1975, Gov. George Busbee signed a joint resolution of the Georgia General Assembly designating the honey bee as Georgia's official state insect. [Click here to read text of resolution.]

© Carl Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia

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