By Victoria Plum 
By Victoria Plum
I knew it would be good and it was. At this week’s meeting of Reepham & District Gardening Club, Dr Ian Bedford led us on another fascinating journey round the insect world.
Ian is an entomologist, now happily retired, who used to work at the John Innes Centre in Norwich. The centre takes its remit to ensure food security extremely seriously.
“Food security” means ensuring that the world’s vastly growing population will have enough to eat. So, research into the activities of insects and invertebrates is crucial – 20% of food crop is destroyed by them.
While the advent of chemical pesticides, both systemic and otherwise, has led to cheaper food production, we now understand that there are more suitable, subtle and less environmentally damaging ways to successfully grow crops: we are learning to be cleverer.
Research has led to real understanding of how these small creatures function (although I suspect we will never understand it all) and we now know all sorts of extraordinary facts; for instance, that some plants send out distress signals when under insect attack that attract predators to counteract it.
This world of tiny creatures, upon which we all ultimately depend for our lives, has evolved, with every creature finding a niche and all being interdependent. The complexity of it all is mind-blowing.
We like to enjoy a cup of tea or coffee and home-made cake at the end of the gardening club meeting – it’s free!
Gold stars go to Irene and Carole for helping with the washing up. If you would like a gold star you are welcome to join us in the kitchen next time.
At 7.45 pm on Tuesday 18 October at Reepham Town Hall, Church Street, the speaker, Johnny Walkers, will tell us about the traumas and excitement of bulb growing.
This next meeting will include a bag sale. Please bring any spare perennials in a carrier bag (or flowerpot, I have potted up some self-sown seedlings to bring as they would not survive in a bag) when they will be sold at a bargain price for club funds.
Above: The spiny or spiked shieldbug (Picromerus bidens) – there are lots of these on my raspberries, although they suck the juice from caterpillars, not raspberries. Photo: Tina Sutton
Geoff Fisher