Friends of Merrymeeting Bay continues its 18th annual Winter Speaker Series with “The Value of Honey Bees to Maine Agriculture” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 10.

The talk will take place upstairs at The Old Goat in Richmond. The event is free and open to the public.

The American Beekeeping Federation estimates one-third of food and beverages in the U.S. are made possible because of bee pollination, an industry contributing $20 billion-$30 billion in annual crop production.

In the last 30 years, beekeepers have faced multiple challenges, including parasitic mite species, new viral pathogen strains, microsporidia, Africanized bees, electromagnetic radiation, and widespread pesticide and herbicide use. Colony collapse disorder also continues to decimate global populations with an average 30 percent of managed U. S. honey bee colonies lost every year since 2007.

Despite these problems, the commercial bee industry has been able to, thus far, meet the pollination demand of Maine blueberry growers and their economically vital crop. Apiarist Tony Jadczak will discuss challenges facing local bee colonies and beekeepers, and effects on statewide agriculture.

Jadczak, Maine’s state apiarist since 1983 and a beekeeper since he was 14, is responsible for licensing resident beekeepers, inspecting colonies for regulated diseases and parasites, and educating apiarists and the general public on proper beekeeping techniques. Prior to his employment with the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, Tony conducted research on blueberry and cranberry pollination at Rutgers University after his graduation there.

FOMB hosts monthly lectures, film screenings, and other events around the Merrymeeting Bay area through May 2015 as part of its Winter Speaker Series. The events are always free and open to the public and are supported by Patagonia, Inc. in Freeport. All events take place at 7 p.m. the second Wednesday of the month at Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick, unless otherwise noted.

Next month, Steve Powell’s World of Wildlife: In Film & Photo, features historian Jay Robbins and will be part of the 2015 FOMB Annual Meeting on Jan. 14. This meeting will take place at the Cram Alumni House at Bowdoin College in Brunswick and be preceded at 6 p.m. by a potluck supper which the public is invited to also.

Visit www.fomb.org to see the full Speaker Series schedule, become a member, and learn more about the organization.