Back in February I shared a couple posts on the Ladies’ National Covenant and the Women’s Patriotic association for Diminishing the use of Imported Luxuries. Elizabeth Topping shared this clip from MMe. Demorest’s Mirror of Fashion, September 1864 regarding the bee being worn in connection with the Covenant.
“With an earnest desire to see the Covenant we have made accepted by every lady in the land, we have adopted for our Badge the Honey Bee, wrought according to nature.”
Looking further into this bee, we see it discussed:
“The emblem of this Covenant was a black or gilt bee, worn as a pin fastening the national colors, upon the hair, arm, or bosom, as a public recognition of membership. ”
This rural/farming newspaper had a short article and advertisement:
EDITED ADDITION:
From Dressed for the Photographer
This citation/endnote in Buying Power, by Glickman :
Leads us to look for New England Women’s League, for Diminishing the Use of Luxuries during the War , which also gives us Resolutions with Pledge and To the Women of New England: In a War Like Ours, which Involves the Life and Prosperity of a Whole Nation, Every Patriotic Citizen Owes to the Country the Greatest Possible Amount of Service.
A letter to his sister, Lily, from John Loathrop Motley discussing his thoughts on the League.
Ack, a lead snag, potential headache, or what a difference 30 years makes. There is another NY/NE Women’s League that appears in the 1890s. This muddles up searching.
**For those considering wearing a bee pin as part of their impression, I would like to emphasize the late war dates surrounding it. The Covenant was established in May of 1864, leaving a year (or two “reenacting seasons”) suitable for its wear.
If I Had My Own Blue Box: 
http://isabelladangelo.blogspot.com/2014/04/an-award.html
An award! 🙂
Thank you very much! I’ll get my post and awardees together asap.