Tuesday, May 8, 2012

7:30 PM

Bats vs. Moths: an evolutionary arms race

MCZ 101, 26 Oxford Street, Harvard University

Jessica Walden-Gray

Jessica Walden-Gray, Boston University

Bats and moths have been trapped in an evolutionary arms race for over 50 million years. Bats “see” the sensory world in sound and insects have evolved an array of tools to exploit echolocation to stay one wing beat ahead of bats. Moths have adapted ears and ultrasonic cries to avoid bats and jam bat sonar. Ms. Walden Gray will focus on the adaptations of tiger moths to avoid bat predation and introduce a species of tiger moth that has co-opted its bat ears for sexual communication.

The talk is free and open to the public. The meeting is readily accessible via public transportation. Parking is available in the Oxford Street Garage with advance arrangement, as described here, or (usually but not always) at spaces on nearby streets. Everyone is also welcome to join us for dinner before the talk (beginning at 6:00 PM) at the Cambridge Common restaurant on Massachusetts Avenue.

CEC meetings are held the second Tuesday of the month from October through May. The evening schedule typically includes an informal dinner (6 to 7 PM) followed by our formal meeting (7:30 – 9:00 PM). The latter begins with club business and is followed by a 50 minute entomology related presentation. Membership is open to amateur and professional entomologists.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

7:30 PM

Consequences of multiple species invasions: a native butterfly confronts exotic plants and parasitoids

MCZ 101, 26 Oxford Street, Harvard University

Dr. Frances Chew

Frances Chew, Professor of Ecology, Tufts University

Exotic invasive species pose challenges to native species encountering them
for the first time. In the 1800s, the native mustard white butterfly flew
in Harvard Yard. Since then it has been affected by serial invasions of
garlic mustard, parasitoid biological control agents for the related
cabbage white butterfly, and other exotic plant species. Despite its
current threatened status in Massachusetts, the ecological stage is now set
for recovery and population growth of this butterfly – an unintended
consequence of recent species introductions.

The talk is free and open to the public. The meeting is readily accessible via public transportation. Parking is available in the Oxford Street Garage with advance arrangement, as described here, or (usually but not always) at spaces on nearby streets. Everyone is also welcome to join us for dinner before the talk (beginning at 6:00 PM) at Cambridge Common restaurant.

CEC meetings are held the second Tuesday of the month from October through May. The evening schedule typically includes an informal dinner (6:00 to 7:15 PM) followed by our formal meeting (7:30 – 9:00 PM). The latter begins with club business and is followed by a 50 minute entomology related presentation. Membership is open to amateur and professional entomologists.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

7:30 PM

Pretty and poisonous: the role of plant defenses in flowers

MCZ 101, 26 Oxford Street, Harvard University

Lynn Adler

Dr. Lynn Adler,Associate Professor, Department of Plant, Soil and Insect Science, UMass Amherst

The role of chemicals in mediating plant-animal interactions in flowers is relatively unexplored. Flowers act as signals for pollinators, but may also be used by unwelcome guests such as nectar robbers, flower eaters, and seed predators. If leaves and flowers both contain defensive chemicals, it may be difficult for plants to facilitate pollination and also maintain plant defenses. Exposure to defensive chemicals in pollen and nectar has the potential to affect pollinator health. Considering the role of floral defenses will provide a more in-depth understanding of how such traits evolve, and their consequences for population dynamics of both plants and insects.

The talk is free and open to the public. The meeting is readily accessible via public transportation. Parking is available in the Oxford Street Garage with advance arrangement, as described here, or (usually but not always) at spaces on nearby streets. Everyone is also welcome to join us for dinner before the talk (beginning at 6:15 PM) meeting at the Caspersen Student Center cafeteria, if you are late we may be at Cambridge Commons this month.

CEC meetings are held the second Tuesday of the month from October through May. The evening schedule typically includes an informal dinner (6:15 to 7:15 PM) followed by our formal meeting (7:30 – 9:00 PM). The latter begins with club business and is followed by a 50 minute entomology related presentation. Membership is open to amateur and professional entomologists.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

7:30 PM

Of Martian ants and their asexual sisters

MCZ 101, 26 Oxford Street, Harvard University

Christian Rabeling

Dr. Christian Rabeling, Harvard University Junior Fellow

Since the Mesozoic, ants evolved to become the most diverse, abundant and ecologically dominant group of social insects on earth.  Recent advances in molecular and computational biology allowed for reconstructing the phylogenetic history of this fascinating group of organisms and for understanding their evolutionary biology.  In this presentation, I will describe how the discovery of a single new species from the Amazon rainforest changed our understanding of ant evolution and what an asexually reproducing fungus-growing ant can teach us about the universality of sexual reproduction.

The talk is free and open to the public. The meeting is readily accessible via public transportation. Parking is available in the Oxford Street Garage with advance arrangement, as described here, or (usually but not always) at spaces on nearby streets. Everyone is also welcome to join us for dinner before the talk (beginning at 6:15 PM) at the Harvard Law School cafeteria, on the second floor of the Caspersen Student Center.

CEC meetings are held the second Tuesday of the month from October through May. The evening schedule typically includes an informal dinner (6:15 to 7:15 PM) followed by our formal meeting (7:30 – 9:00 PM). The latter begins with club business and is followed by a 50 minute entomology related presentation. Membership is open to amateur and professional entomologists.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

7:30 PM

The 18 year effort to establish the American Burying Beetle to Nantucket Island, Massachusetts

MCZ 101, 26 Oxford Street, Harvard University

Louis Perrotti

Lou Perrotti, Director of Conservation Programs at Roger Williams Park Zoo

The American burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus Olivier) is a federally listed endangered species once common throughout the eastern and mid-western United States and now surviving in limited habitats in seven states. From 1994-2011 an initiative to re-establish the beetle on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts has been carried out by a partnership of public and private conservation agencies. During the 18 year period, nearly 3,000 captive raised beetles were released at two sites on the 31,000 acre island. This talk will outline this 18 year effort and show how current post-release monitoring has confirmed that substantial numbers of beetles are reproducing and surviving over winter.

The talk is free and open to the public. The meeting is readily accessible via public transportation. Parking is available in the Oxford Street Garage with advance arrangement, as described here, or (usually but not always) at spaces on nearby streets. Everyone is also welcome to join us for dinner before the talk (beginning at 6:15 PM) at the Harvard Law School cafeteria, on the second floor of Harkness Commons.

CEC meetings are held the second Tuesday of the month from October through May. The evening schedule typically includes an informal dinner (6:15 to 7:15 PM) followed by our formal meeting (7:30 – 9:00 PM). The latter begins with club business and is followed by a 50 minute entomology related presentation. Membership is open to amateur and professional entomologists.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

7:30 PM

Amateur entomologists and digital photography

MCZ 101, 26 Oxford Street, Harvard University

Tom Murray

Now that nearly everyone owns a digital camera, many nature lovers have taken to photographing insects. Through their photography, amateurs are documenting range extensions, newly arriving exotics and interesting behaviors. Online media has created a worldwide forum for sharing this information with professionals and the interested public. Contributions of amateurs will be shown through photos and some of the interesting winter insects from the area will also be presented. Tom will also mention his forthcoming field guide on the insects of New England and New York.

The talk is free and open to the public. The meeting is readily accessible via public transportation. Parking is available in the Oxford Street Garage with advance arrangement, as described here, or (usually but not always) at spaces on nearby streets. Everyone is also welcome to join us for dinner before the talk (beginning at 6:15 PM) at the Harvard Law School cafeteria, on the second floor of Harkness Commons.

CEC meetings are held the second Tuesday of the month from October through May. The evening schedule typically includes an informal dinner (6:15 to 7:15 PM) followed by our formal meeting (7:30 – 9:00 PM). The latter begins with club business and is followed by a 50 minute entomology related presentation. Membership is open to amateur and professional entomologists.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

7:30 PM

The Flipside of Biological Invasions: The Positive Social Impact of Working with the Asian Longhorned Beetle

MCZ 101, 26 Oxford Street, Harvard University

Asian Longhorned Beetle

Michael Bohne, US Forest Service

Forest Service Entomologist Michael Bohne started working on Asian longhorned beetle in Ningxia, China in 1999 and has been actively involved in the eradication efforts in New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts. He will discuss his perspective on Asian longhorned beetle eradication, including experiences with management, research and public outreach. The presentation will highlight how entomology can capture the imagination of the public and how a person interested in working with insects can end up in a career working with people.

The talk is free and open to the public. The meeting is readily accessible via public transportation. Parking is available in the Oxford Street Garage with advance arrangement, as described here, or (usually but not always) at spaces on nearby streets. Everyone is also welcome to join us for dinner before the talk (beginning at 6:15 PM) at the Harvard Law School cafeteria, on the second floor of Harkness Commons.

CEC meetings are held the second Tuesday of the month from October through May. The evening schedule typically includes an informal dinner (6:15 to 7:15 PM) followed by our formal meeting (7:30 – 9:00 PM). The latter begins with club business and is followed by a 50 minute entomology related presentation. Membership is open to amateur and professional entomologists.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

7:30 PM

The Natural History Gap

MCZ 101, 26 Oxford Street, Harvard University

Sam Droege, US Geological Survey

Why does the average age of specimens in the ever declining set of remaining insect collections run to pre-WWII?  Why does NASA spend $1.5 billion a year on climate change satellites yet we are unclear as to even the names of over 10% of North American bees and know nothing of even their regional status?  Can natural history collections be mated with inventory and monitoring work and, (OMG!) statistics to create our own insect satellite systems?

The talk is free and open to the public. The meeting is readily accessible via public transportation. Parking is available in the Oxford Street Garage with advance arrangement, as described here, or (usually but not always) at spaces on nearby streets. Everyone is also welcome to join us for dinner before the talk (beginning at 6:15 PM) at the Harvard Law School cafeteria, on the second floor of Harkness Commons.

CEC meetings are held the second Tuesday of the month from October through May. The evening schedule typically includes an informal dinner (6:15 to 7:15 PM) followed by our formal meeting (7:30 – 9:00 PM). The latter begins with club business and is followed by a 50 minute entomology related presentation. Membership is open to amateur and professional entomologists.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

7:15 PM

Katydids of South Africa: An exploration of a nearly unknown fauna

Harvard University Herbarium, 22 Divinity Ave, Harvard University

Piotr Naskrecki, Harvard University

Piotr Naskrecki has traveled the world investigating invertebrate biodiversity, capturing beautiful images of the natural world and studying katydids. Dr. Naskrecki will address the club to discuss his NSF-funded orthopteroid survey work in South Africa. The talk will include a biogeographical and historical overview of the country’s katydid fauna and highlight some of the interesting species radiations that have been uncovered.

This will be a bit of an unusual meeting night. We will begin our meeting a little early in order to nominate and vote for new club officers. Our meeting will be held in the Harvard University Herbarium seminar room (information about the meeting location is found here), which is not far from our normal meeting room in the MCZ. There is no pre-meeting dinner this month. In lieu of dinner CEC members may be interested in attending a lecture by Michael Canfield entitled: The Secrets of Field Notes: Capturing Science, Nature, and Exploration. This talk is hosted by the Harvard Museum of Natural History, is held in the Geological Lecture Hall and begins at 6 PM.

Cambridge Entomological Club talks are free and open to the public. The meeting location is readily accessible via public transportation. Parking is available in the Oxford Street Garage with advance arrangement, as described here, or (usually but not always) at spaces on nearby streets.

CEC meetings are held the second Tuesday of the month from October through May. Meetings begin with club business and this is followed by a 50 minute entomology related presentation. Membership is open to amateur and professional entomologists.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

7:40 PM*

Boston Harbor Islands All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory: discovering the microwilderness of an urban island park.

MCZ 101, 26 Oxford Street, Harvard University

*Please note the meeting will begin 10 minutes later than our normal time.

Dr. Jessica Rykken, Harvard University

The Boston Harbor Islands All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) began five years ago. Its major goals include inventorying and educating the public about arthropod biodiversity in the park. Jessica Rykken, a Harvard based researcher, has played a vital role in coordinating both the inventory and educational efforts. She first addressed the club shortly after the project was underway. Dr. Rykken is now returning to report on what has been discovered from the more than 1700 species and 65,000 specimens the ATBI has captured and cataloged.

The talk is free and open to the public. The meeting is readily accessible via public transportation. Parking is available in the Oxford Street Garage with advance arrangement, as described here, or (usually but not always) at spaces on nearby streets. Everyone is also welcome to join us for dinner before the talk ( beginning at 6:15 PM) at the Harvard Law School cafeteria, on the second floor of Harkness Commons.

CEC meetings are held the second Tuesday of the month from October through May. The evening schedule typically includes an informal dinner (6:15 to 7:15 PM) followed by our formal meeting (7:30 – 9:00 PM). The latter begins with club business and is followed by a 50 minute entomology related presentation. Membership is open to amateur and professional entomologists.