Month: September 2016

Petting Bees and Catching Bugs

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We started the day off at the Honey Bee Research Facility, where we learned about topics such as: how smoke calms bees, different jobs that bees do, and larvae. We even got to pet the fuzzy little honeybees and try some of the honey straight from the comb, which all of us really enjoyed! Afterwards, we were allowed to try some goldenrod pollen which was semi-sweet and soft, but the truly outstanding part of that was seeing the parasite that affects honeybees walking along the pollen (it’s a miniscule grey dot so it may be hard to see)
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Paul gave all of us a sample of honey to take home with us at the end of the day as well!

 

 

 

 

 

   We left the research facility and took a scenic walk to the learning centre near the Arboretum where an exhilarating, eventful, yet somewhat frightful hour would begin. All of us received bug identification charts, and a net and were told to go out in small groups and catch an insect to present in front of the class at the end of the allocated time. Some bugs included: spittlebugs, milkweed bugs, black and yellow garden spiders, and praying mantises. All in all it was a tiring, yet eye-opening day! I think we’ve all learned to appreciate nature more.

 

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(Two praying mantises mating)

Outdoor School: Honey Bees and Catching Insects

On September 20, 2016, our Outdoor School class visited the University of Guelph’s very own apiary and honey bee research centre. We put on our beekeeping hats and veils, and were shown the hives that contained thousands of busy honey bees. We were able to pet the bees, taste their fresh honey and eventually take home a bottle of honey that was extracted right from the apiary.

Entering the UofG Honey Bee Research Centre
Learning how to smoke the bees!
Petting the bees!
We got to taste fresh honey!
Delicious honey to take home.

After visiting the bees, we walked through the Arboretum to the learning centre where we learned how to catch insects and identify them.

Catching insects is not easy!
Learning about the insects we caught.
Praying Mantis

We saw and learned about many other insects such as jumping spiders, milkweed bugs, wasps, bees, moths and beetles. Overall, it was a very productive day that involved a lot of walking and getting up close and personal with different species from the largest group of animals!