On Tuesday, November 22nd we took a trip to the greenhouse and insect collection on campus. We began with a tour of the greenhouses in the E.C. Bovey building. Our guide described some of the many interesting research projects going on in the greenhouse. It is amazing how many uses there are for common plants such as medications and even rubber. After this we went into the tropical greenhouse and learned about some of the many beautiful, tropical plants growing there. This greenhouse is like being on a tropical island with plants such as banana trees, orchids, coffee trees and Spanish moss. After the greenhouses we went into the Guelph insect collection. This collection is the oldest insect collection in Canada. Here we saw many interesting bug species on display in boxes. We also saw the collection of Rusty Patched Bumblebees. This collection is the one that tells the story of the practical extinction of these bumblebees from Canada. After seeing many dead bugs it was time to see some live ones. We sat down for a visit with some Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches and many brave students held these massive insects. 
