Meeting 1221 Minutes

The 1221st meeting of the Cambridge Entomological Club was called to order by President Jesse Thuma at 7:43pm on Tuesday December 13, 2022. Approx. 15 members and guests attended, plus 8 more joined us via Zoom.

New business:

Neil Rosser was nominated for membership

Old business:

Billy Hickey was approved for membership.

Our speaker was Andrea Sequeira of the Wellesley College Biology Department. Her talk was entitled “The challenges faced by endemic Galápagos weevils, and how do introduced species succeed anyway?”

Professor Sequeira explored the colonization history of a group of endemic broad-nosed weevils (genus Galapaganus) in the Galapagos and the current status of introduced and endemic populations. Phylogenies show intra-island interactions and introductions from the mainland contributing to a complex genetic scenario with multiple interactions at various times. The location and acreage of the various islands, their ages, and topography are some of the factors.

To explore the question, “Do introduced populations have a genetic impact on endemics?” Prof. Sequeira’s lab is examining the mating strategies, host plant and habitat preferences of endemics and their introduced close relatives. Insights into mating strategies were enabled by many hours of video footage and also morphological differences between species.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:06 pm.

Respectfully submitted, Andrea Golden, CEC Secretary