With the help of a colonial era scholar friend of mine, I do have a source
for the name "White man's flies". It comes from the Jeffersonian
Cyclopedia, and the reference is entry 794.

"794. BEE, The Honey. —
The honey-bee is not a native of our continent. Maregrove, indeed,
mentions a species of honey-bee in Brazil. But this has no sting, and is
therefore different from the one we have, which resembles perfectly that
of Europe. The Indians concur with us in the tradition that it was brought
from Europe; but when, and by whom, we know not. The bees have generally
extended themselves into the country, a little in advance of the white
settlers. The Indians, therefore, call them the white man's fly, and
consider their approach as indicating the approach of the settlements of
the whites. —

TITLE: Notes on Virginia.
EDITION: Washington ed. viii, 319.
EDITION: Ford ed., iii, 175.
PLACE: [none given]
DATE: 1782 "

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