Native bees talks set today in Olympic National Park

Published 12:01 am Monday, September 1, 2014

OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Entomologist Jessica Rykken will tell about her survey of native bees in Olympic National Park in two programs today.

Both “Catch the Buzz!” programs are free with entrance fee to the park.

Rykken who is from Harvard University’s Museum of Comparative Zoology, spent two weeks at the park survaeying native bees and flower flies, two diverse groups of pollinators essential to maintaining healthy ecosystems in the park.

At the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center, she will host an informal drop-in from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

She will discuss her work on insect pollinators at the park. A microscope will provide close-up views of bees and flower flies.

At 8 p.m. tonight, she will present a slide show about the park’s native bees and flower flies at the Heart o’the Hills Campground amphitheater.

Her programs will focus on insects she has found at both alpine and lower elevations in the park, as she talks about the diversity, natural history and ecology of these pollinators.

Rykken has worked in such national parks as Boston Harbor Islands, Acadia, George Washington Birthplace, Yellowstone and Denali to conduct insect biodiversity surveys and educate park visitors about the diversity of the “microwilderness.”