Honeybees are an integral part of the ecosystem, and their rapid population decline is of great concern to scientists worldwide.

According to a recent news release from the Whidbees Bee Club, one-third of honeybee colonies collapse each year.

Dan Harvey, of the Olympic Wilderness Apiaries, has been working to breed “survivor” honeybees. He bases his breeding stock on wild honeybees captured in the forests of the Olympic Peninsula and incorporates genetic materials provided by Washington State University and the USDA Bee Lab in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, according to the release.

Harvey will present the results of his 18 years of work at the next meeting of the Whidbees Bee Club at 7 p.m., Wednesday March 4 at the Freeland Library. For more information, contact Kathy Maxwell at 360-331-1315 or Kadamax@msn.com.