Shantanu Shukla

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

07:30 PM

Queens, potential queens, and temporary workers in a tropical paper wasp species

MCZ 101, 26 Oxford Street, Harvard University

wasp1Shantanu Shukla,
Harvard University

Ropalidia marginata is a primitively eusocial wasp from southern and south-eastern Asia. Queens and the workers are morphologically similar, and reproductive castes are flexible. Queens are the sole egg layers in the colony, but workers retain the capacity to fully develop ovaries and become queens. What distinguishes this species is that the queen is not the dominant female, but is meek and docile. How then does the queen maintain her reproductive dominance? How does the colony regulate its maintenance and care? If workers are capable of becoming queens, why don’t they do so?
Dr. Shukla will demonstrate how he has used behavioral experiments to elucidate the mysteries of these complex and fascinating social insects.

The talk is free and open to the public. The meeting is readily accessible via public transportation. Parking is available in the Oxford Street Garage with advance arrangement, as described here, or (usually but not always) at spaces on nearby streets. Everyone is also welcome to join us for dinner before the talk (beginning at 6:00 PM) at Cambridge Common restaurant, on 1667 Massachusetts Ave.

CEC meetings are held the second Tuesday of the month from October through May. The evening schedule typically includes an informal dinner (6:00 to 7:15 PM) followed by our formal meeting (7:30 – 9:00 PM). The latter begins with club business and is followed by a 50 minute entomology related presentation. Membership is open to amateur and professional entomologists.

Special Event: Bee day at Harvard

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

1:00 PM to 9:00 PM

Bee day at Harvard

1 Oxford Street, Harvard University

 

Honeybee

Photo: Gary Alpert

We will start our schedule this year with this special event about honeybees. The bee day is going to be a day of events and activities highlighting the importance of honeybees and beekeeping to biodiversity, the food supply, and human health. Learn more about the alarming decline of beehives (colony collapse disorder) widely documented in the U.S. and Europe. All activities and events are free and open to the public.  They are located at the Plaza or the Science Center, 1 Oxford Street.

Event Schedule
1:00–2:00 pm: The Plaza (in front of the Science Center)
Enjoy organic honey tasting at the Harvard Farmers’ Market.

4:00 pm:
Take a tour of the beehives on Harvard’s campus, led by Harvard Undergraduate Beekeepers. Preregistration required. To register, please send your information to lectures@hmsc.harvard.edu or call 617-495-2773.

7:00 pm: Science Center, Hall C
Film screening of More Than Honey, followed by a discussion with Dr. Alex Lu, Associate Professor of Environmental Exposure Biology, Harvard School of Public Health, about current research on the link between colony collapse disorder and the use of agricultural pesticides.

Jointly sponsored by the Harvard Museum of Natural History, Harvard Undergraduate Beekeepers, the Harvard Farmers’ Market, the Food Literacy Project, and the Cambridge Entomological Club.

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →