Iowa could be joining the SWARM of 16 other states that have declared one of nature’s colonizers as an official state symbol.

Some legislators say Iowa’s current standing is unbelievable. “Iowa is one of two states without an official state insect,” Senator Chris Cournoyer (kuh-NOY-yer) of Le Claire said. She is among the members of a Senate Committee who’ve voted to give that distinction to the honeybee.

Things could get sticky for the bee in the House. A lawmaker there has proposed naming a black and orange butterfly — called the regal fritillary (frit-ih-TILL-air-ee) — as the state insect. If you’re unfamiliar with Iowa’s official symbols, the state tree is the oak, the state flower is the wild rose, the state rock is the geode and the state bird is the goldfinch.