The honeybee was designated the state Insect of Mississippi in 1980. Harvested honey is sold throughout Mississippi at farmers markets and produce stands. Bee pollination is critical to plant and human survival - beeswax and honey are just surplus gifts from this tiny wonder of nature. The plant world expends a lot of energy attracting bees and other insects with brilliantly colored flowers and sweet nectar (nectar is produced solely to attract pollinating insects).
Mississippi designated oyster shell (Crassostrea virginica) as the official state shell in 1974. The American oyster is a valuable resource of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Mississippi designated the spicebush swallowtail butterfly (Papilio troilus) as the official state butterfly in 1991. The spicebush swallowtail acquired its name from its most common host plant, the spicebush.
Also called the green-clouded butterfly, the spicebush swallowtail is normally found in deciduous woods or woody swamps in the eastern US and southern Ontario.
Missouri designated the square dance as the official state American Folk Dance in 1995. Twenty-two states have passed legislation to declare the square dance as a state symbol and more than thirty bills have been introduced at the federal level proposing the square dance as the national (folk) dance of the United States.
Missouri designated the North American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus, formerly Rana catesbeiana) as the official state amphibian in 2005. All State Amphibians
The bullfrog is the largest frog native to North America and can be found in every county of Missouri. A fourth grade class at Chinn Elementary School in Kansas City came up with the idea to make the bullfrog a state symbol of Missouri.
Missouri designated the channel catfish as the official state fish in 1997. The catfish is so-named for its cat-like whiskers, which are used to assist in the hunt for food. The most numerous catfish species in North America, with an average size between 2 and 4 pounds, the channel catfish can grow to 50 pounds or more (the world record was a channel catfish caught in South Carolina weighing 58 pounds).
Missouri designated galena (lead sulfide) as the official state mineral in 1967. Galena is the major source of lead ore, and Missouri is the top producer of lead in the United States. Galena is dark gray in color and breaks into small cubes.
Missouri designated the crinoid (Delocrinus missouriensis) as the official state fossil in 1989; promoted by school students from Lee's Summit, MO. Crinoids are the fossilized remains of prehistoric sea lilies that lived in the oceans that once covered Missouri (related to the starfish and sand dollar). There are still about 600 varieties of Crinoidea living in the oceans of today.
Missouri designated Hypsibema missouriense as the official state dinosaur in 2004 (Missouri also recognizes an official state fossil). All State Dinosaurs & Fossils
Missouri designated the crayfish (also called crawfish or crawdad) as the official state invertebrate in 2007. The crayfish was nominated for state invertebrate by Mrs. Janna Elfrink's elementary school class (Reeds Spring, Missouri). All State Fish & Aquatic-Life Symbols