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OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Three beekeepers from the Olympia Beekeepers Association installed about 25,000 bees and two queens into two hives.
The installation Wednesday is part of an effort to raise awareness about the decline of bee populations across the country, as well as to boost pollination of plants at the governor's mansion and on the Capitol campus.
The bees will roam in an approximately 4-mile radius once they are accustomed to their new homes. Beekeepers from the association will be responsible for the care and upkeep of the hives.
Bees are critical to the food supply because about one-third of the human diet comes from insect-pollinated plants, and honeybees are responsible for 80 percent of that pollination.
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