>>>To get a good comparison, it would be interesting if bees were found in 
Ohio before settlers came in. One interesting fact is the honeybee was 
called the "white man's fly. So did they precede the settlers or were they 
concurrent?

Most accounts are that honeybees preceded in advance of the white man:

In the Historical Honeybee Archives  
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/HistoricalHoneybeeArticles
we have some articles concerning the advancement
of honeybee in the USA. 

The first record of bees in Ohio in 1754  Probably by Swarming.
(Source: Eva Crane, World History of Beekeeping and Honey Hunting, Pg. 
359) 


Tioga Eagle
Wednesday, February 07, 1849 Wellsboro, Pennsylvania

Is the Bee the Harbinger of 
Civilization?-The Author of A Tour on 
the Prairies, says the Indians regard the
bee as the harbinger of the white man,
as the buffalo is of the red man; and
say, that in proportion as the bee advances
the Indian and the buffalo retire.  The
wild bee is said to be seldom met with
at any great distance from the frontier.
When the honey bee first crossed the 
Mississippi, the Indians, with surprise,
found the hollow trees of their forests
suddenly teeming with honey; and nothing 
can exceed the greedy relish with
which they banquet for the first time upon
this unsought luxury of the wilderness.
At present, the honey bee swarms 
in myriads in the noble greaves and forests
that skirt and intersect the prairies,
and extend along the alluvial bottoms of 
The rivers.



Prairie Du Chien Weekly Courier
Thursday, June 26, 1856 Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin

Bees and Quails.- The Rev, A. H. 
Milburn, in a lecture on the west says:
Two remarkable facts are to be noted
in respect to the advancement of whites.
the first is that the quail, unknown to
the Indian, makes its first appearance-
from whence no man knows, when the
white man ploughs and plants his fields,
affording an abundance of delicate food
to the pioneers.  The second fact is, the 
honey bee is not found in the country
while in possession of the Indians.  It
keeps just in advance of the advancing 
wave of civilization. When the Indians
see swarms of those new visitors, their 
wise men sadly acknowledge that it is
time for them to abandon their pleasant 
hunting grounds and the graves of their 
fathers, and seek new homes.

Best Wishes,
Joe  ~ Derry, PA   

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