Boston Flora

Tag: Museum Of Comparative Zoology

  • Tuesday, February 11, 7:30 pm – Phyto-Predation and Phylogeny of Lepidochrysops Butterflies and Relatives

    Yes, you read that right. February’s Cambridge Entomological Club meeting will be held on Tuesday the 11th at 07:30 PM in in room 101 of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. Dr Marianne Espeland will present a talk entitled From host plants to host ants: phyto-predation and phylogeny of Lepidochrysops butterflies and relatives.

    More than 99.99% of the approximately 200,000 described Lepidoptera species are phytophagous. Only around 500 species are aphytophagous and feed mainly on other insects or their secretions. Aphytophagy is most common in the butterfly family Lycaenidae where it has evolved independently several times, but mostly as single species in otherwise phytophagous clades. One exception is the Afrotropical genus Lepidochrysops, with 137 described species, all assumed to be predaceous on ant brood or fed by trophallaxis from the third instar until pupation. Little is known about their life history, the relationships among the five genera in the Euchrysops section, and even less about the relationships among species within Lepidochrysops. Dr Espeland’s aim is to infer a phylogeny of the Euchrysops section and answer questions about the evolution of predation and diversification of the group.

    If you can make head or tail of that description, the meeting is free and open to the public. Snacks will be provided and you are also welcome to join us at 6:00 PM for an informal pre-meeting dinner at the Cambridge Common.

    http://www.learnaboutbutterflies.com/Lepidochrysops%20quassi%207328-001a.jpg

  • Tuesday, January 14, 7:30 pm – A Heads-Up View of Urban Stream Ecology

    The next meeting of the Cambridge Entomological Club will take place Tuesday, January 14, beginning at 7:30 in room 101 of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Oxford Street, Cambridge. Dr Bob Smith will present a talk entitled A Heads-up View of Urban Stream Ecology.

    Human activities in the watershed and direct alterations to the stream channel can alter the habitat and water quality experienced by fauna living in a stream. Thus, studies examining stream communities along an urbanization gradient typically focus on the links between watershed land-use and in-stream conditions. However, stream organisms are not confined to a single stretch of stream throughout their life. Fish have the ability to disperse long distance through the stream network, and flying insects can disperse long distances across the landscape, unconstrained by the stream network.

    Using a combination of field studies and GIS, Dr Smith investigated how dispersal (a regional process) affects patterns of stream biodiversity along a gradient of human influence. His research suggests that human land use across the landscape may impede dispersal and both local (watershed based) and regional (dispersal based) processes are important for controlling community structure in urbanized streams. The mechanisms for how human activities alter regional processes differ between taxa and are related to species life history traits. These findings have important implications for conservation and restoration strategies as well as developing land-use development plans that promote the sustainability of stream ecosystems.

    The meeting is free and open to the public. Snacks will be provided and you are also welcome to join us at 6:00 PM for an informal pre-meeting dinner at the Cambridge Common.

    http://all-geo.org/highlyallochthonous//srv/htdocs/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/urban_restoration2.jpg

  • Tuesday, December 10, 7:30 pm – Life on the Leaf Edge

    The next meeting of the Cambridge Entomological Club will take place Tuesday, December 10 beginning at 7:30 pm in room 101 of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Oxford Street, Cambridge. Samuel Jaffe will present a talk entitled Life on the Leaf Edge. Sam Jaffe will discuss his work photographing our local caterpillars. Highlights will include details on the defensive adaptations of caterpillars, and information on how he finds, rears, and photographs them. Live pupae will be featured, as well as, of course, the photos themselves.

    Sam will also discuss how he has incorporated caterpillars into educational programming and curricula across New England in the hopes of fostering a new generation of aware and passionate naturalists. The meeting is free and open to the public. Snacks will be provided and you are also welcome to join us at 6:00 PM for an informal pre-meeting dinner at the Cambridge Common.

    https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/000/471/507/a74ea4f9c82def24a1cc694dfeb87d72_large.jpg?1364324002

  • Tuesday, October 8, 7:30 pm – Queens, Potential Queens, and Temporary Workers in a Tropical Paper Wasp Species

    The next meeting of the Cambridge Entomological Club  will be held on Tuesday, October 8 at 7:30 PM in in room 101 of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, 26 Oxford Street in Cambridge. Shantanu Shukla will present a talk entitled “Queens, potential queens, and temporary workers in a tropical paper wasp species”.

    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 meeting is free and open to the public. Snacks will be provided and you are also welcome to join us at 6:00 PM for an informal pre-meeting dinner at Cambridge Common. Image below from www.treknature.com.

    http://i1.treknature.com/photos/13984/paper-wasp.jpg

  • Wednesday, August 7, 10:00 am – 11:30 am – In Search of Butterflies and Dragonflies

    Please join Jeremiah Trimble (Curatorial Associate, Ornithology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard) on Wednesday, August 7 from 10 – 11:30 for a leisurely walk around Mount Auburn exploring habitats from pond edges to wildflower patches, in search of the various types of butterflies and dragonflies.  Limited registration. $7 for Friends of Mount Auburn, $12 for nonmembers. Pre-registration required at http://www.mountauburn.org/2013/in-search-of-butterflies-dragonflies-2/ . Funding for programs has been provided in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

    http://data.whicdn.com/images/7832227/Wenceslas_Hollar_-_Dragonfly_and_four_butterflies_original.jpg

  • Tuesday, February 12, 7:30 pm – Two Centuries of Jumping Spider Studies in Massachusetts

    The next meeting of the Cambridge Entomological Club  will be held on Tuesday February 12 at 07:30 PM in room 101 of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. Dick Walton will present a talk entitled “Two Centuries of Jumping Spider (Araneae: Salticidae) Studies in Massachusetts”.

    Worldwide the salticids comprise the largest spider family with approximately 300 species represented in North America north of Mexico. Superior eyesight, an active lifestyle, diversity of forms, colors and behaviors are all hallmarks of this group. Dick Walton will present a brief history of salticid studies in MA as well as an overview of jumping spiders present in MA today. In addition, he will show us several of his videos portraying these amazing creatures.

    The meeting is free and open to the public. Snacks will be provided and you are also welcome to join us at 6:00 PM for an informal pre-meeting dinner at West Side Lounge Restaurant.  Photo from www.thegardenerseden.com.

    http://www.thegardenerseden.com//srv/htdocs/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Jumping-Spider-%E2%93%92-Tim-Geiss.jpg

  • Tuesday, February 12, 6:00 pm – Looking for Signs of Evolution: Bees, Butterflies, and Bacteria

    Naomi Pierce, Hessel Professor of Biology and Curator of Lepidoptera at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard, will speak Tuesday, February 12, beginning at 6 pm at the Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge on the topic Looking for Signs of Evolution: Bees, Butterflies, and Bacteria. Naomi Pierce examines the behavioral ecology of species interactions, such as insect/host plant associations, and the life history, evolution, and systematics of butterflies and other insects. Part of the Evolution Matters Lecture Series, supported by a generous gift from Drs. Herman and Joan Suit. Free and open to the public.  Free event parking in the 52 Oxford Street garage.

  • Tuesday, December 11, 7:30 pm – Exploring Insect Biodiversity in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique

    The next meeting of the Cambridge Entomological Club will be held on Tuesday, December 11 at 7:30 PM in room 101 of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Oxford Street, Cambridge. Gary Alpert and Piotr Naskrecki will present a talk entitled Exploring Insect Biodiversity in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique.

    Gary Alpert and Piotr Naskrecki will present a photo essay of a recent field expedition to Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique for the purpose of collecting ants and katydids. We will hear about field trips by helicopter, protection by armed national park guards and other adventures.

    The meeting is free and open to the public. Snacks will be provided and you are also welcome to join us at 6:00 PM for an informal pre-meeting dinner at Cambridge Commons restaurant.

  • Tuesday, November 13, 7:30 pm – Insects on the Edge of America: Exploration and Discovery on the Southern Border of the USA

    The next meeting of the Cambridge Entomological Club will be held on Tuesday November 13 at 7:30 PM in room 101 of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. Joshua Rose will present a talk entitled “Insects on the Edge of America: exploration and discovery on the southern border of the USA.”

    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 meeting is free and open to the public. Snacks will be provided and you are also welcome to join us at 6:00 PM for an informal pre-meeting dinner at West Side Lounge Restaurant.

  • Tuesday, March 8, 7:40 pm – Evolutionary Origins of Myrmecochory: Clues from Two Continents

    The next meeting of the Cambridge Entomological Club will be held on Tuesday March 8 at 7:40 PM in room 101 of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Oxford Street, Cambridge. Please note that the meeting will begin 10 minutes later than normal. David Lubertazzi will present a talk entitled Evolutionary Origins of Myrmecochory: Clues from Two Continents.  David, who is President of the Club, is a postdoctoral fellow  creating species pages for the Global Ant Project, and has described a Pyramica from Florida.

    Myrmecochory is a mutualism that provides food to ants and seed dispersal benefits to plants. Studies examining these interactions have provided important insights in ant biology, plant biology and a diversity of topics in ecology and evolutionary biology. This talk will present details about the natural history of two ant species that play important roles in dispersing seeds within their native habitats. Common characteristics of these ants will then be shown to form the
    basis for a new hypothesis to explain how myrmecochory first evolved.

    The meeting is free and open to the public. Snacks will be provided and you are also welcome to join us at 6:15 PM for an informal pre-meeting dinner at Harkness Commons, in the law school cafeteria on the second floor. For more information, email David Lubertazzi at lubertazzi@gmail.com.