Editing Honey bee (section)

==Symbolism==
{{Main|Bee (mythology)}}

The bee was used as a symbol of government by [[Napoleon I of France|Emperor Napoleon I]] of France.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.napoleon.org/en/essential_napoleon/symbols/index.asp |title=The symbols of empire |publisher=Napoleon.org |access-date=1 June 2010}}</ref> Both the [[Hindu]] ''[[Atharva Veda]]''<ref>"O Asvins, lords of brightness, anoint me with the honey of the bee, that I may speak forceful speech among men! ''Atharva Veda'' 91–258, quoted in Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat (Anthea Bell, tr.) ''The History of Food'', 2nd ed. 2009:14.</ref> and the ancient Greeks associated lips anointed with honey with the gift of eloquence and even of prescience. The priestess at [[Delphi]] was the "Delphic Bee".

The ''[[Quran]]'' has a [[Sura]] (chapter) titled "[[An-Nahl|The Bee]]". It is named after honey bees and contains a comparison of the industry and adaptability of honey bees to the industry of man.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.islamicity.com/science/quranandscience/animals/generatedfiles/thehoneybee.htm|title=THE HONEY BEE|website=www.islamicity.com}}</ref>

{{blockquote|And your Lord inspired the bees: “Make ˹your˺ homes in the mountains, the trees, and in what people construct, and feed from ˹the flower of˺ any fruit ˹you please˺ and follow the ways your Lord has made easy for you.” From their bellies comes forth liquid of varying colours, in which there is healing for people. Surely in this is a sign for those who reflect.|{{qref|16|68–69|c=y}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.miracles-of-quran.com/honey_bees.htm|title=Honey Bees in Quran|website=www.miracles-of-quran.com|access-date=2019-08-25|archive-date=2019-08-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190825160604/http://www.miracles-of-quran.com/honey_bees.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>}}

In ancient Egyptian mythology, honey bees were believed to be born from the tears of the [[Sun God]], [[Ra]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/may/24/honey-i-love-you-our-40000-year-relationship-with-the-humble-bee|title=Honey, I love you: our 40,000-year relationship with the humble bee|author=Holly Norton|date=24 May 2017|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=29 June 2018}}</ref> Because of their divine origin, they were used to represent the Pharaoh. They were also used as a symbol of Lower Egypt in conjunction with the sedge, which represented Upper Egypt.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Haynes |first=Dawn |url=https://scholar.sun.ac.za/bitstream/10019.1/79920/1/haynes_symbolism_2013.pdf |title=The Symbolism and Significance of the Butterfly in Ancient Egypt}}</ref>

In Joseph and Asenath, a work composed by ancient Egyptian Jews who may have been affiliated with the [[Leontopolis (Heliopolis)|Leontopolis temple]], bee and honey imagery appears when Asenath converts and is visited by an angel. If the work was indeed connected to the Leontopolis temple, the bees likely represent Levite priests, and the imagery intends to signify the legitimacy of a Jewish temple in Egypt.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Piotrkowski |first=Meron M. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/on1076801783 |title=Priests in exile: the history of the temple of Onias and its community in the Hellenistic Period |date=2019 |publisher=De Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-059107-1 |series=Studia Judaica |location=Berlin |oclc=on1076801783}}</ref>

A community of honey bees has often been employed by political theorists as a model of human society, from Aristotle and Plato to Virgil.<ref>Virgil, ''[[Georgics]]'', book IV.</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Bee Wilson |year=2004 |title=The Hive: The Story of the Honeybee |publisher=[[John Murray (publishing house)|John Murray]] |location=London |isbn=978-0-7195-6598-4 |page=14}}</ref> Honey bees, signifying immortality and resurrection, were royal emblems of the [[Merovingians]]. The state of [[Utah]] is called the "Beehive State", the state emblem is the beehive, the state insect is the honey bee, and a beehive and the word "industry" appear on both the state flag and seal.<ref>{{cite web |title=Utah State Motto and Emblem |url=http://onlinelibrary.utah.gov/research/utah_symbols/motto.html |publisher=Utah State Library |access-date=13 October 2017 |archive-date=21 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171021011044/http://onlinelibrary.utah.gov/research/utah_symbols/motto.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>