Meeting 1181 Minutes

Minutes from the 1181st Meeting of the Cambridge Entomological Club

President Nate Edelman called the 1181st meeting of the Cambridge Entomological Club to order at 7:40 pm on Tuesday, April 11th in MCZ 101.

Approximately 18 members and guests were in attendance.

New business:

Nate announced nominations for 2017-2018 CEC officers.

President – Zhengyang Wang

Vice President – Rachel Hawkins

Secretary – Andrea Golden

Treasurer – Shayla Salzman

At Large – Scott Smyers, Jay Shetterly, Bruno de Medeiros

Our speaker was Dr. Damon Crook, from the Otis USDA Laboratory in Buzzards Bay

His talk was entitled “Chemical Ecology and Behavior of the Emerald Ash Borer and Asian Longhorned Beetle”

Emerald Ash borer (EAB) Agrilus planipennis and the Asian longhorned Beetle (ALB) Anoplophora glabripennis, are among the most serious invasive pests of deciduous trees in North America.

Traps to detect and assess population densities of established infestations of EAB and ALB are crucial to controlling them. Development of monitoring traps for these pests are hindered by their complex mating behaviors, which involve male produced short range pheromones, female produced short range pheromones, female produced trail and cuticular contact pheromones, along with important visual cues such as foliage color.

Discussing his work with EAB, Damon described the efficacy of funnel traps in purple or green baited with combinations of lures known to be attractive to EAB: manuka oil, a green leaf volatile, and sex pheromones.

ALB’s are more sedentary with a wider range of hosts, so are more difficult to monitor and control. Development of lures and traps is ongoing.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:10 pm for discussion and refreshments.

Respectfully submitted,

Andrea Golden, CEC