Meeting 1250 Minutes
Minutes from the 1250th Meeting of the Cambridge Entomological Club
The 1250th meeting of the Cambridge Entomological Club was called to order by President Amine Kousba at 7:35pm on Tuesday, May 12, 2026. Approx.15 members and guests attended w/ 7 additional members and guests on Zoom.
New business:
- Treasurer Jay Shetterly took a vote on membership dues for student, regular, and lifetime memberships. The new rates will be students $25, regular $50 and lifetime memberships $250.
- Amine shared a link for the state insect petition plus social media and announcements
- Michael LaScalia is revamping the Club website
- Scott Smyers reminded members about the May 16 Bioblitz in Vermont and the Cape Cod event on September 19.
- Eli Bodor was nominated for membership
Our speaker was CEC President Amine Kousba, whose talk was entitled “How do Insects Respond to Artificial Light at Night”
Increasing levels of artificial light at night (ALAN) and urbanization are becoming prevalent drivers of global insect declines. A key cause of this is that insects fly towards artificial lights (a behavior known as flight-to-light). Amine discussed findings from a sampling of urban, suburban, and rural habitats in Massachusetts. Insects show increased flight-to-light behavior in darker conditions but the timing remained similar, with peak activity around an hour after sunset. Lunar cycles also affected insects’ flight-to-light behavior, with increasing light from the waxing moon showing decreased activity.
Amine concluded with recommendations for minimizing impacts on insects from artificial light.
The meeting adjourned at 8:56 pm
Respectfully submitted,
Andrea Golden, CEC Secretary
