Phytophagous Insect Data Bank (PIDB, also known as Phytophagous Insect Database)

The PIDB was conceived in the late 1970s by Dr Lena Ward, at the then Furzebrook Research Station of the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology (ITE, which was later subsumed by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology). Lena’s idea was partly inspired by discussions with Jack Dempster at ITE Monks Wood.

As invertebrate herbivory directly involves so many species, and is the foundation of so many biotic interactions, Lena’s vision was to assemble the knowledge of Britain’s herbivores and hosts in a computerised database. Such knowledge, otherwise dispersed across a vast professional and amateur literature, is a vital starting point for many studies in ecology and conservation.

In today’s landscape of information technology, the concept of a database seems unremarkable. Yet thirty years ago, computing was the proviso of university mainframes, operated laboriously by specialist technicians. The PIDB offered immediate retrieval of specific information, from multiple sources. It was an idea before its time