> A writer doing a short article for a popular Bay Area magazine has asked
> about the significance of the bee on Napolean's crest.
 
In fact, the main emblem of Napoleon was the eagle. He also chose the
bee "as a supplemental" by a decree of 1804, on the insistence of
Cambacérès - the chief architect of the Code Civil -, who liked the
working habits and the strong social structure of the bees. He also
pointed out that the bee was an emblem of the Merovingians (in fact it
was cicadas that were found in their tombs).
 
(From T. Lentz "Mon ambition était grande" Découverte Gallimard)
 
Pierre