(WAND) — The black and gold bumblebee became the official Illinois state bee Wednesday.
Governor JB Pritzker signed HB 4438 into law, designating the species as the state bee. The governor's office said the black and gold bumblebee serves as a critical prairie-land pollinator, boosting Illinois' natural ecosystem, supporting agriculture, and helping to sustain life on earth.
The action follows a year of advocacy by students from Naperville's Lincoln Junior High School. In 2025, the students in educator Barbara Bell's 8th grade science class led an initiative to grant this designation, following a research assignment on bee species native to Illinois.
They designed presentations to be distributed to schools across Illinois, organized a statewide student vote, and testified in committee. The state said these efforts led to the passage of HB 4438.
"Illinois is home to extraordinary insects and wildlife, each with an essential role to play in keeping our ecosystems thriving, and the hardest working of all is the bee," Pritzker said. "The students at Lincoln Junior High School recognized the impact the black and gold bumblebee has on our state's natural environment, a source of great pride to all who call Illinois home. They demonstrated the power of young people brought together by curiosity and civic engagement, and in doing so, left their mark on our state."
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