Meeting 1142 Minutes

Minutes from the 1142nd Meeting of the Cambridge Entomological Club

President Jess Walden-Gray called the 1142nd meeting of the Cambridge Entomological Club to order at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, April 10, 2012 in MCZ 101. Approximately 20 members and guests were in attendance.

New business: Jess recapped her March 31st walk at Middlesex Fells, Patrick Gorring attended an organizational meeting for the friends of Middlesex Fells and Jay Shetterly brought a collection of cerambicids from his early years of collecting. May 19th the club is co-sponsoring a spring hike with the Friends of Wachusett Mountain, led by CEC member Scott Smyers. The annual election of CEC officers was postponed until the May meeting.

Old business: 1 person was voted into membership.

Our speaker was Dr. Frances Chew, Professor in the Department of Biology at Tufts University. Her talk was entitled Consequences of multiple species invasions a native butterfly confronts exotic plants and parasitoids

Prof. Chew’s talk included two firsts for the CEC: it was recorded as a podcast, and she offered a taste test of several butterfly host plants, including the invasive garlic mustard, watercress, and Chinese cabbage. The taste test was an introduction to one of her research questions, how do butterflies respond to potential new host plants that may not be optimal for their needs?

Dr. Chew went on to describe interactions between two introduced parasitoids and native and introduced Pieris butterflies. Changing habitats have added additional challenges and sometimes opportunities for beleaguered native butterflies.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:40 for discussion and refreshments.

Respectfully submitted,

Andrea Golden, CEC Secretary