OKLAHOMA CITY – Four insects and one crop moved closer Monday to becoming state symbols.

The Senate Agriculture and Wildlife Committee passed two measures seeking to add them to a long list of state symbols.

Senate Bill 2065, by Sen. David Bullard, RDurant, would name the European honey bee the state agricultural pollinator while the American bumblebee would be the state native insect.

The measure would also classify the Carolina mantis as the state predator insect and the rainbow scarab, a dung beetle, as the soil conservation insect. The Carolina mantis, which is grey, brown or greenish in color, is known to be beneficial to gardens as it feeds on insects.

Rainbow scarabs, which eat animal waste, are known for their metallic green or blue wings and their golden and red colors on their thoraxes.

Bullard said the measure is not something he would have worked on until he was contacted by Lucile Morehouse, 15, a 4-H Oklahoma State Ambassador from Boswell in Choctaw County.

At age 11, she and her mother started Lucile’s Pollinator Project after learning pollinators across the nation were in decline, Morehouse told the panel.

“I write grants, gather donations and use that money to purchase and package seed packets and give them away across the nation for free,” Morehouse said. “As I’ve grown older, I wanted to make a bigger impact on our pollinators.”

She said she wants the bill to bring attention to pollinators, such as bees, butterflies, beetles and the praying mantis, which help produce most of the food eaten and benefit ecosystems and agriculture.

Without them, crops would be harder to grow and more expensive, she said.

“By supporting our pollinators, you are helping safeguard our food supply, our environment and the future of everyone in Oklahoma,” she said.

The panel also passed Senate Bill 2159, by Sen. Roland Pederson, RBurlington, that would designate wheat as the official state crop.

Pederson said wheat is a very versatile crop that is grown across the state.

The measure passed by a vote of 12-0.

If the measures successfully make it through the legislative process, they will add to a growing list of state symbols that include the American bison as the state animal and American quarter horse as the state horse.

Oklahoma Voice (oklahomavoice.com) is an affiliate of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization, supported by grants and donations. Oklahoma Voice provides nonpartisan reporting, and retains full editorial independence.