The honeybee is by far the most popular state insect, having been selected by 17 states: Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah (nicknamed the Beehive State), Tennessee, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

About 45 kinds of birds, squirrels, chipmunks, and white-footed mice eat this serious insect pest. Among the 13 imported natural enemies of the moth, two flies, Compislura concinnata (a tachnid fly) and Sturnia scutellata, parasitize the caterpillar. Other parasites and various wasps have also been tried as controls, as well as spraying and male sterilization.