Cambridge Entomological Club Meeting - Today!

[Michael LaScaleia]

Join us for a meeting of the Cambridge Entomological Club!

This is our final meeting of the 150th year of the CEC - all are highly encouraged to  attend our informal dinner at 6:00 pm at Cambridge Common Restaurant with the speaker!

Date: Tuesday, December 10th, 7:30 PM EST

Location: In Person in MCZ101A, or on Zoom

Title: Dark skies and fireflies: What light pollution means for insect conservation

Speaker: Avalon Owens

Summary: Nearly all species on earth use the sun, moon, and stars for self-orientation in time and space by attuning to celestial light cues that have been reliable for all of evolutionary history... until now. In the 21st century, increasing numbers of increasingly bright artificial lights extend the day, eclipse the moon, and obscure the stars even in nominally protected areas, with the night sky on average twice as bright today as it was only a decade ago. In this talk, I explore the ecological costs and evolutionary consequences of this transformation for insects. I look at how light pollution interferes with the bioluminescent courtship rituals of fireflies, and what it might mean for their future as cultural touchstones and flagship species. I also discuss moth flight-to-light behavior, a bizarre phenomenon leveraged in long-term surveys that is as harmful to moths as it is beneficial to entomologists, and ask how our perception of the conservation status of insects would change if the compulsion of the moth to the flame were subject to evolution by natural selection.

NOTICE: We will be holding hybrid meetings to accommodate COVID-19 precautions and audience members from around the world. You can join our Zoom meeting by clicking here.

For those able to attend, we will have an informal dinner at 6:00 pm at Cambridge Common Restaurant with the speaker, followed by our formal meeting (7:30 - 9:00 pm) in room MCZ101A of the Museum of Comparative Zoology (there will be signs to help direct). The meeting will begin with club announcements, followed by a 60-minute presentation by the invited speaker and Q&A. Membership is open to amateur and professional entomologists - that means everyone!