Meeting 1192 minutes

Minutes from the 1192nd Meeting of the Cambridge Entomological Club

President Avalon Owens called the 1192nd meeting of the Cambridge Entomological Club to order at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, December 11th 2018 in MCZ 101. Approx. 33 members and guests were in attendance.

New business:
Treasurer Shayla Saltzman announced that she will be relocating to NY next year. She encourages interested club members to consider the treasurer’s office.
Scott Smyers updated the club on field trips for the coming year. Tentative destinations include Wachusett Mtn, Appledore Island, and the Caterpillar Lab in NH. Scott is also looking for volunteers to help organize.

Old business:
Dominique Person, Brian Felter, and Caleb Rodriguez were confirmed for membership.

Our speaker was Joseph Parker of Cal Tech. His talk was entitled Deceiving the superorganism: Infiltration of ant societies by stealth beetles.
Rove beetles (Staphylinidae) comprise a species-rich clade (approx. 64K sp.) in which many independent lineages have evolved phenotypically elaborate symbioses with ants. These relationships involve radical changes in behavior and interspecies communication, allowing the beetles to assimilate into ant societies where they live as social parasites that hijack social nest cues to exploit colony resources.
Starting with a brief overview of myrmecophiles, including caterpillars and crickets, Prof. Parker discussed the staphlinids’ multiple strategies: chemicals to appease or deter ants; physical adaptations such as compact bodies and thick cuticles to protect against ant attacks or, in army ant colonies, physical mimicry to avoid detection.
Other adaptations are modified mouthparts that enable the staphlinids to be fed by ants while retaining the ability to pierce and consume ant eggs. To aid in his work comparing free living rove beetles vs. myrmecophiles, Prof. Parker uses Dalotia coriaria, a free living rove beetle used to control garden pests and consequentially available in large quantities.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 pm for discussion and refreshments.

Respectfully submitted, Andrea Golden, CEC Secretary