Oregon's license plate, the Pollinator Paradise plate, is scheduled to be available to the public on Nov. 1.

The bee license plates are here!

Pollinators are the latest Oregon creatures to get their own license plate, joining gray whales, salmon, deer and of course, Beavers and Ducks.

The new Pollinator Paradise plate, available Nov. 1, was designed by Marek Stanton, of Estacada, who was just 16 when the plate was announced.

Stanton’s design shows two different bees: the managed honey bee and wild yellow-faced bumble bee.

Behind the bees is a field of red clover.

Stanton was part of Oregon State University’s Master Melittologist program, which studies native bees. He was too young to be part of the program by himself so his mom, Kalika Stanton, signed up with him and also attended every class.

The new license will include a $40 surcharge that will have to be paid initially and every two years.

Funds raised from the surcharge will go to OSU “to support research programs focused on keeping pollinator populations healthy,” according to a news release from the Oregon Department of Transportation.

You can apply for the plates by mail, at DMV offices, online, or through licensed vehicle dealers when buying a car, the department said. Vouchers are also available if you are interested in giving bee license plates as a gift.

The Oregon Legislature formed a task force to protect bees in 2015, and the new license plate is the next step in the process of protecting Oregon’s buzzy pollinators.

“Today, Oregon has the most extensive educational programs on protecting bees, which includes everyone from bee nerds, to pesticide applicators, gardeners, landscapers, foresters and golf-course superintendents,” Andony Melathopoulos, OSU Extension pollinator health specialist, told The Oregonian in January.

“Oregonians have risen to the occasion,” added Melathopoulos, “taking what they have learned and turning it into innovative solutions to helping bees on the ground.”