Tuesday March 08
07:30 PM
President’s Address: Mechanisms of a Neotropical coevolution: plant-insect communication in a cycad-weevil symbiosis
MCZ 101, 26 Oxford Street, Harvard University
Pollination mutualisms are well known, even kindergarteners know that the bee and the flower both benefit. Obligate pollination symbioses where both partners completely rely on the other for lifecycle completion, however, are represented by only a handful of examples: the fig-fig wasp and yucca-yucca moth mutualisms being the most famous. In this talk, I will introduce you to another obligate pollination symbiosis; one unique in that it involves a non-flowering plant. We will discuss the symbiotic relationship of the gymnosperm cycad genus Zamia and their Rhopalotria weevil partners and ask what mechanisms exist to maintain this specialized relationship and if we can see evidence of co-evolution in these groups.
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 5:45 PM) at the West Side Lounge, 1680 Massachussetts Avenue, Cambridge.
CEC meetings are held the second Tuesday of the month from October through May. The evening schedule typically includes an informal dinner (5:45 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.
