On February 15th, we were delighted to welcome Dr. Ian Bedford, a retired research entomologist and former Head of the Entomology Department of The John Innes Institute in Norwich. His talk ‘Butterfly Gardening’ was breathtakingly beautiful with superb slides of many species of British moths and butterflies. Ian’s talk was filled with expert information and knowledge and details of how these insects are not only beautiful but are essential to our lives. Sadly and worryingly, they are in decline owing to human activities such as loss of habitat and the use of pesticides especially neonicotinoids. Ian told us how we could make our gardens more butterfly friendly by planting pollinator species, using alternatives to pesticides and checking that the plants we buy from garden centres have not been sprayed with chemicals. We are continuing with our monthly Zoom meetings and are so pleased that they are proving popular with over 50 members attending the January and February meetings
