The Cambridge Entomological Club’s April meeting will take place Tuesday, April 9 at 7:30 pm in Room 101 of the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology on Oxford Street in Cambridge.

Why do fireflies flash? Because they want to be seen! But their unique bioluminescent courtship signals can be obscured by street lamps, house lights, and other sources of nighttime light pollution — and if we’re not careful, our lights might extinguish theirs forever. Learn more about the total impact of light pollution on firefly reproduction, and methods whereby fireflies, moths, and other essential members of the nocturnal ecosystem can continue to coexist with humans on this increasingly urbanized planet.

Avalon Owens is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Biology at Tufts University, where she studies the impact of light pollution on North American fireflies. She earned her Masters degree in Entomology from National Taiwan University, and hosts a bilingual educational YouTube channel called INSECT [昆蟲島] ISLAND.

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 Cambridge Common, 1667 Mass Ave., Cambridge.