Did You Know Louisiana Has a State Bug & a State Drink?

You probably know a lot of the "Official" state symbols for Louisiana.  Like the state bird for Louisiana, of course, the Eastern Brown Pelican. (Although the pelican on the state flag is white? But I digress)

Louisiana also has an official state dog, the Catahoula Leopard Dog.  The Catahoula was named after Catahoula Parish, and is described by dogbreedinfo.com as:

The Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog is independent, protective and territorial. Loving with its family and all people it knows well but can be reserved with strangers (this would include strange children)

But did you know Louisiana has an official state bug?  You might think it would be the mosquito, or even the water bug.... but it's actually... the Honeybee.

According to aitcla.org, there is an estimated 343 beekeepers and 24,844 bee colonies in Louisiana. The article also says:

The common honey bee of today is not native to America. Bees were brought here by European colonists in 1622. Escaped colonies quickly spread across the region. The bees did not cross the Rocky Mountains naturally; they were transported to Utah in the late 1840s by Mormon pioneers.

 

Bees actually play a very important role in the ecosystem through their pollenation, which is vital to the survival of various plants and animals.

In addition to a state bug, Louisiana also has an "Official State Drink."  And it's not the Hurricane, or that New Orleans original, the Sazerac.  The official state drink of Louisiana is.. Milk.  Yup... good ol' milk.

Considered a nearly perfect food, milk became the official state drink of Louisiana in 1983 as a tribute to the state's dairy industry.