Meeting 1196 minutes

Minutes from the 1196th Meeting of the Cambridge Entomological Club

President Avalon Owens called the 1196th meeting of the Cambridge Entomological Club to order at 7:34 pm on Tuesday, April 9th 2019 in MCZ 101.
Approx. 25 members and guests were in attendance.

New business:Sofia Prado-Irwin was approved for membership.

Avalon announced nomina
Vice President – Sang-Il Kim
Secretary – Andrea Golden
Treasurer – Sofia Prado-Irwin
At Large – Scott Smyers, Jay Shetterly, Edward Pleckavitch

Scott Smyers reminded members about upcoming field trips. The Aug. 3 Wachusett Bioblitz will feature Charley Eisenman.
April events included two Bioblitzes: one in Somerville and one at Fresh Pond in Cambridge.

After an intro by fellow Tufts grad student Nick Dorian, Avalon Owens, CEC President and Ph.D. at Tufts University, discussed her work impact of light pollution on North American fireflies in a talk entitled “Strangers in the Night: Has light pollution led to firefly declines?

Avalon began with an overview of bioluminescence in other insect taxa including flies, click beetle larvae, cockroaches, and other beetles. She offered details about the larva and mating habits of local firefly genuses; Photinus, the predatory Photuris, Pyractomena and others. Fireflies share habitats by using distinctive flash patterns and appearing at different times throughout the night. Flash colors change from yellower to greener as the night progresses.

Avalon mentioned the characteristics of artificial light sources (street lamps, house lights, and others) and which were more or less disruptive to firefly courtship signals. The crucial communication link is female response to male signaling. Avalon has been running experiments with Photinus obscurellus to learn more.
She concluded with some good news: unlike most other environmental threats, if light pollution is successfully addressed, there are no residual effects!

The meeting was adjourned at 8:55 pm for discussion and refreshments.

Respectfully submitted, Andrea Golden, CEC Secretary