| Where | Waterstones Bookshop Sauchiehall Street Glasgow |
| When | First Monday of the month, 7pm |
| Contact | Mandy Maclean, Kevin O’Dell, Martin Hendry |
| Website | Glasgow Cafe Scientifique |
Upcoming events
Monday 7th September 2019
Beneficial insects: why we need bugs!
Lorna Cole
Venue: https://strath.zoom.us/j/95013469217
Meeting ID 950 1346 9217: Password 425246
When it comes to conservation we often think of the panda, the tiger or the mountain gorilla. But what about the humble bumblebee, ladybird or soil mite? Arguably, these critters can be just as majestic and beautiful and the role they play in our world is indisputably more important.
Dr Lorna Cole, from Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), will be our guide to the vital roles these insects play in food production. We will meet the ferocious predators that are active in farmers crops, the multitude of insects that pollinate crops and the critters that keep our soil healthy.
And in a live experiment, we will try and answer the question: what makes a bad apple? To take part in the experiment have ready a couple of apples – one mis-shapen and one perfect – a knife and a chopping board.
Lorna Cole is an agricultural ecologist at SRUC and lectures on their Wildlife and Conservation Management Degree. Lorna believes that feeding our growing world population while at teh same time protecting our environment is the greatest challenge we face. She is particularly interested in beneficial insects, including pollinators and predatory beetles. Her research aims to increase our understanding of how agricultural practices influence these insects and the ecosystem services they deliver.
In this virtual Cafe Sci, Lorna will introduce the topic, speaking for 10 minutes, with the remaining time (c.50 mins) devoted to our questions. You can submit questions in advance to ness (at) monstermedia.tv but you can ask live on the night as well. Please contact Ness directly if you need further info.
Bring your own glass of wine or cup of coffee!