The 2008 corn maze at Sweetapple Farm in Vincent, OH, is buzzing with excitement! The honey bees are flying out of their honeycomb to pollinate the crops on the farm and the flowers in the garden! Guests will wind their way through the hive and through the life of a honey bee at Sweetapple this year. Albert Einstein speculated that "If honeybees disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years of life left." As you get lost in the seven acres of the 2008 corn maze, you'll learn about the honey bee's importance to plants - and to mankind.
2008 DROUGHT: Because of the wet May and early June - most people don't realize the drought of 2008 experienced at the farm. You'll notice the 'light green' areas of the maze and some sections look like there's not much corn there. From late June through August 25 - there was no rain at the farm. The maze is in good shape - but there are a couple of sections where the corn is small. Also, crabgrass invaded the corn due to it's slow growth. This made these light green sections in the picture this year.
Pictures are from August 13th, 2008 - of course by our amateur photographer - Eric!
1. Honeycomb – Good luck finding your way through the hexagon shapes in the honeycomb of the maze. Learn about this natural engineering wonder!
2. Five Bees – How does a queen come to be? Are the worker bees male or female? What about those lazy drones? Find out all about the lives of bees in the maze.
3.
The
Farmstead & Farm
Fields –
Bees are essential for the production of many crops. Did you know
there are crops which cannot pollinate themselves?
4. Flowers – Bees are attracted to the bright colors of flowers. They even do a 'waggle' dance to tell the other bees where the best pollen is located. Whether bright flowers in your garden - or red and purple flowers of clover and alfalfa in the farm fields - the bees are the best pollinators in nature.