25,000 bumblebees killed in Wilsonville

WILSONVILLE, OREGON -- June 18, 2013 -- A dead bumblebee clings to a linden tree in a Wilsonville parking lot. The Oregon Department of Agriculture suspects they were killed by improper application of pesticide.

(Motoya Nakamura)

will be honored in a memorial this weekend at the Wilsonville Target

. State officials directly

that had been sprayed with the insecticide Safari.

Rozzell Medina, of Portland, said on the

that the event will "memorialize these fallen lifeforms and talk about the plight of the bees and their importance to life on Earth."

Bumblebees are native to North America and play an important role in pollinating various crops, including berries and clover.

"I thought it would be a good opportunity for people to see that this is not just a news item," Medina said."With a lot of these ecological catastrophes, they become so abstract that people become scared to feel them."

Medina said he will bring food to the memorial that relies on bees for pollination. The event is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday.