If you’ve ever driven through Utah, you’ll have noticed a unique symbol on the state’s highway signs: a beehive. Utah’s flag also features a large beehive, and the State Capitol has a beehive statue out front. Although one might assume that Utah is known for its beekeeping tradition or an impressive level of honey production, the state’s association with the beehive is mainly symbolic.
In fact, Utah’s annual honey production can best be described as average compared to many other U.S. states. For the record, North Dakota is the nation’s top honey producer (its bees produced 38.3 million pounds of honey, worth over $67.8 million, in 2023), followed by South Dakota and California. Texas, Montana, Florida, and Minnesota are also major producers. Utah, not so much. In 2019, it was the nation’s 24th-largest producer.
Instead, Utah’s association with honeybees has to do with the state’s history, specifically its settlement by Brigham Young and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints pioneers following a long westward trek. Young chose the name “Deseret” for the Salt Lake Valley, where the LDS pioneers arrived in 1847, invoking a name for honeybees used in The Book of Mormon.
The settlers brought several bee "skeps" with them: traditional, spiral-shaped domes made of straw, which housed their honeybees. The skep became an emblem of the community, symbolizing the pioneers’ desire to work hard together (like honeybees) to flourish in the harsh desert lands they settled. Widely featured in embellishments on early churches and other buildings, bees and beehives were associated with many religious and moral values prized by the Mormons, including frugality, cooperation, harmony, order, and industry. This last value was adopted as Utah’s official motto when it became a state in 1896. "Industry" also appears prominently on the state’s Great Seal, above the beehive emblem.
A hive of activity:
- In the decades since, “The Beehive State” has continued to embrace honeybees and beehives as symbols of community and industriousness. The beehive is the state’s official symbol, while the honeybee is the state insect. Countless businesses and organizations have also adopted the beehive image or name.
- For Utah’s centennial in 1996, the state designated the Beehive Cluster, an open cluster of about 1,000 stars located in the constellation Cancer, as Utah’s astronomical symbol.
- In 2024, Utah adopted a new flag, fittingly called the Beehive Flag (in contrast with the previous “Historic State Flag”). The new design features the beehive even more prominently and incorporates elements of Utah’s landscape - red rock canyons, white snowy mountains, and blue skies and lakes.
