insect biodiversity

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

7:30 PM

Insects on the edge of America: exploration and discovery on the southern border of the USA

MCZ 101, 26 Oxford Street, Harvard University

Praying mantis from the Lower Rio Grande Valley

Josh worked for three and a half years as head biologist of the World Birding Center in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of extreme southern Texas. During that time he met entomologists collecting and describing species new to science, naturalists exploring the biology of little-known insects, and photographers hoping to document rare tropical vagrants that had wandered across the border from Mexico. He will share some of what they have been discovering down there.

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 PM) at the West Side Lounge restaurant.

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.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

7:30 PM

Consequences of multiple species invasions: a native butterfly confronts exotic plants and parasitoids

MCZ 101, 26 Oxford Street, Harvard University

 

Dr. Frances Chew

Frances Chew, Professor of Ecology, Tufts University

Exotic invasive species pose challenges to native species encountering them
for the first time. In the 1800s, the native mustard white butterfly flew
in Harvard Yard. Since then it has been affected by serial invasions of
garlic mustard, parasitoid biological control agents for the related
cabbage white butterfly, and other exotic plant species. Despite its
current threatened status in Massachusetts, the ecological stage is now set
for recovery and population growth of this butterfly – an unintended
consequence of recent species introductions.

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.

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.