Honey bee
According to the Fondation Napoléon, the Conseil d'Etat which considered the new coat of arms looked at, variously: an eagle, a lion, an elephant, bees, the oak, the fleur de lys, and the cockerel. Al the last moment Napoleon chose the eagle, and the honey bee. Symbol of immortality and resurrection, the bee was chosen so as to link the new dynasty to the very origins of France. Golden bees (in fact, cicadas) were discovered in 1653 in Tournai in the tomb of Childeric I, founder in 457 of the Merovingian dynasty and father of Clovis. They were considered to be the oldest emblem of the sovereigns of France.
