Meeting 1168 Minutes

Minutes from the 1168th Meeting of the Cambridge Entomological Club

President Shayla Salzman called the 1168th meeting of the Cambridge Entomological Club to order at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, October 13th in MCZ 101, 26 Oxford St. Approximately 18(?) members and guests were in attendance

Sandra Rehan of UNH presented a talk entitled Comparative biology of Ceratina small carpenter bees: What early insect societies can tell us about the evolution of sociality.

Small carpenter bees, genus Ceratina, offer an opportunity to study the evolution and maintenance of social behavior in a group with well-documented life histories and a well-established phylogeny. They have worldwide distribution, with tropical species generally forming more complex societies while temperate species tend to be solitary or form small groups.

Prof. Rehan studies the small carpenter bee, Ceratina calcarata, a native species abundant in New England. It can be found nesting in hollow (often sumac) stems in various social configurations. C. calcarata exhibits prolonged maternal care, and through nutritional manipulation, the mother bee can produce a special class of “small daughters” that serve as helpers in raising their siblings. Prof. Rehan also discussed nutritional, developmental and behavioral variation among the members of these small groups of bees.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 for discussion and refreshments.

Respectfully submitted,

Andrea Golden, CEC Secretary