Meeting 1141 Minutes

Minutes from the 1141st Meeting of the Cambridge Entomological Club

Vice President Patrick Gorring called the 1141st meeting of the Cambridge Entomological Club to order at 7:40 pm on Tuesday, March 13, 2012 in MCZ 101. Approximately 13 members and guests were in attendance.

New business: 1 perspective member, Susan Axe-Bronk, was nominated.

Old business: 2 people were voted into membership.

Our speaker was Dr. Lynn Adler, Associate Professor of Entomology at UMass Amherst. Her talk was entitled Pretty and Poisonous: The role of plant defenses in flowers.

Prof. Adler studies complex plant/animal interactions involving multiple species in multiple roles as antagonists and mutualists to develop a more in-depth understanding of how traits evolve. Using experimental manipulations in the field with greenhouse and laboratory experiments, Prof. Adler described her work with two plants that contain alkaloids, Carolina Jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens) and tobacco (Nicotiana). How do they facilitate pollination and also maintain plant defenses? Defensive chemicals are found in pollen and nectar. Do they deter antagonists such as nectar-robbing carpenter bees, and do they have an effect on pollinators? Prof. Adler detailed some of her findings.

In the course of her work, Prof. Adler observed that suburban sites have a higher density of insects and antagonistic plant/insect interactions, with herbivory and nectar robbing up to 50% higher than rural sites.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 for discussion and refreshments.

Respectfully submitted,

Andrea Golden, CEC Secretary