A new state bee? Naperville students buzzing about the black and gold bumblebee

The black and gold bumblebee may soon find its place on a list of Illinois state symbols that includes the violet, sweet corn and pumpkin pie, thanks to a group of eighth graders from Naperville.

After hearing some buzz in the community that Illinois should have a state bee, Barb Bell, an eighth-grade science teacher at Lincoln Junior High School in Naperville, contacted state Rep. Janet Yang Rohr about the idea.

From there, Bell and her fellow science teacher Emily Barlog put their 280 students to work. The students were separated into groups of three to study one of the 10 native bees in Illinois.

“I used to think of bees as a scary animal because no one wants to be stung by a bee,” student Sofia Nicoloudes said. “But now I realize the importance of bees and what they do for Illinois and the United States. I understand it more and value it.”

She and other eighth graders researched their bees and narrowed the list of 10 to three finalists — the black and gold bumblebee, the bicolored sweat bee and the American bumblebee.

Once the list was trimmed, “expert groups” comprised of volunteer students put together a slide presentation to send to students across the state for a final vote.

Ultimately, students from 86 communities across the state selected the black and gold bumblebee as the proposed state bee.

Nicoloudes and her fellow expert team members, Ahanna Patel and Liza DiSanto, traveled to Springfield to testify before the Illinois House of Representatives.

A bill naming the black and gold bumblebee as the state bee passed the House earlier this month and is awaiting Senate approval before advancing to Gov. JB Pritzker for his signature.

Illinois Sen. Laura Ellman of Naperville is sponsoring the bill in the Senate. Yang Rohr hopes the bill will be signed by the end of this session next month, just in time for bee season.

The three students hope that designating a state bee will help promote awareness of the important role of pollinators and underscore that students can make a difference.

“Bees are not appreciated enough,” DiSanto said. “This will really highlight how much bees do for Illinois and what student voices can do.”

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, there are about 4,000 species of wild bees across the country that contribute to agricultural production and represent a $34 billion economic value. Roughly 35% of the world’s food crops depend on pollinators to reproduce, according to the agency.

“The black and gold bumblebee is a really big pollinator for lots of farms,” Patel said. “It helps our farmers flourish, and their crops grow.”

Besides naming a state bee, the project helped show students how government works.

Both Yang Rohr and Bell said it demonstrates to students the impact they can make on their community.

“I hope others take it as a great example of what students can do and what they can do when they see an issue or a problem,” Yang Rohr said.

This is not the first time a Naperville school has had a hand in pitching a state symbol. In 2022, students at Maplebrook Elementary in Naperville and Pleasant Dale School in Burr Ridge tackled a project to get a state rock named. Their efforts resulted in dolostone being named Illinois’ state rock.