Tuesday, January 14th
MCZ 101, 26 Oxford Street,
Harvard University
07:30 PM
Mound-building termites and how they coordinate their work
Justin Werfel
Senior Research Scientist
Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University
Termites construct complex mounds that are orders of magnitude larger than any individual and fulfill a variety of functional roles for the colony. The traditional understanding of how the insects organize their efforts focuses on stigmergy, a form of indirect communication in which actions change the environment and thereby provide cues that influence future work. I will discuss studies that point to the importance of cues including surface geometry, active excavation, and humidity, but, surprisingly, show no role for the putative cement pheromone that has been central to the theory for six decades. There will also be robots.
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 5:45 PM) at the Cambridge Common, 1667 Mass Ave., Cambridge.
CEC meetings are held the second Tuesday of the month from October through May. The evening schedule typically includes an informal dinner (5:45 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 60-minute entomology related presentation. Membership is open to amateur and professional entomologists.
