A bug’s life ... live from the community garden

A very interesting workshop organized by members of the Learning Garden took place on campus last Monday night : Wanted alive!  Appreciating and recognizing insects in the garden. First, I must confess: in everyday life, I simply abhor insects and bugs of all kinds. It's not very original, but spiders are really my worst nightmare. But hey, I still spent my evening in a workshop on insects and, what's even more amazing is that I really enjoyed it!

The animator, Keith MacCallum, volunteer at the Learning Garden and 4th year student in biology at the University of Ottawa, first introduced us to various insects’ categories. We then went hunting in the gardens of the University! Here’s a little rundown of what I learned Monday:

• Nnative North American bees don’t produce honey at all and don’t even live in huge colonies. There's even one in the community gardens that made a hive for herself only! 
• The mystery of the wasp waist was also resolved last week: it allows the wasps to warm up their upper body part faster in the morning, and so to get to fly faster! 
• Finally, who would have thought, but cockroaches do have wings and know how to use them! 

Insects are perhaps not very pleasant to look at, but, as Keith MacCallum said it, we really should take more interest in them (and not just in butterflies). After all, these little critters have a huge impact on the functioning of ecosystems, and the proper functioning of your garden!

The members of the Learning Garden meet weekly to learn about the basics of gardening, pollinators and more. We’ll keep you informed on their upcoming workshops!

~ audrey - volunteer and outreach coordinator