Bayer Bee Care Center - Field Trip

We started off with a good laugh today.  We could have been frustrated but we try to laugh when negative emotions come to surface.  You see we were actually going to be a little better than on-time to our field trip today when Siri tells us "Turn left and arrived at your destination".  Problem was all there was for miles on the left was forest.  Ooops.  So we pulled into a business on the right and opened up a different Direction program on my phone, yelling silly at the phone, we found out we were 7 miles down the road from our destination but the kids liked the silly yelling and the road was 55mph so we still arrived on-time.

 
First, we had to check in at the security station at the Bayer Corporate offices, all those drug patents are closely guarded.  Once checked in we drove in circles looking for a parking space only to end up all the back at the security center to park.  It was one of those mornings, but we had plenty of company both getting lost and touring the parking lot.

The center was located in a beautiful modern style building.  Our guide was great with our large group of kids, keeping them engaged and interested.  We began with a short saftey video and then a tour of facility where we learned about native bees vs. imported European Bees.

Then about what was being done to combat the virus infesting hives across North America.  On a good note she dispelled the myth that bee populations are declining across the country, on a bad note they have yet to find a hive not infected with the virus.

Lastly, we went out on a screen porch where she showed us a working hive up close and personal.  I asked if the Top Bar Hives had a lesser incident of the virus since they were suppose to be more natural and therefore less stressful.  She caught herself before speaking too negatively about the Top Bar Hives (sort of funny) and just said they produce less honey.  I guess we'll just have to try things out of ourselves, adding bees to our farm is our project this summer.  I like the rhetoric on the Top Bar Hives as being healthier for the bees, since our main concern is pollination, production takes a back seat to me.  I need to find a way to keep the hive healthy without the well meaning Bayer products.  I do so if for no other reason than buying them would make the project cost prohibitive and not meet our goal of self-sustaining, but more on our gardening philosophy in another post.