December 15, 2021 • Wednesday, 4pm •
American Entomological Society Webinar
Mortal combat between ants and caterpillars: an ominous threat to the endangered Schaus’ swallowtail butterfly in the Florida Keys, USA
The federally endangered Schaus’ swallowtail butterfly (Heraclides aristodemus ponceanus) inhabits subtropical dry forest in the northern Florida Keys. Historically, habitat loss and (potentially) mosquito control have contributed to population declines; however, not much is known about the impacts of invertebrate predators, particularly non-native ants. Ant surveys and predator exclusion manipulations were conducted to assess which ant species foraged on the host plants and which type of threat (aerial or crawling) was the most prevalent to the immature stages of H. a. ponceanus. An “ant danger index” was designed to rank the predatory abilities of the four most common ant species collected on the host plants. The winning (potential) ant threat will be revealed in the upcoming presentation.
Dr. Jaeson Clayborn
Assistant Professor of Biology, Miami Dade College Padrón Campus
http://www.jaesonclayborn.com/
Past Meetings
November 17, 2021 • Wednesday, 4pm •
Virtual American Entomological Society Meeting
Entomologist Mary Treat (1830-1923)
Mary Treat: Entomologist Extraordinaire
Writer Deborah Boerner Ein offers a sneak peek at her Mary Treat biography, Dear Mrs. Treat: Life and Letters of a 19th Century Scientist, with a special emphasis on Treat’s entomological research and writings. Mary Treat corresponded with Charles Darwin as they both studied insectivorous plants, but her correspondence with entomologists—Benjamin D. Walsh, Charles V. Riley, Auguste Forel, Henry McCook, and others—gives us a broader, more accurate view of Mary Treat’s life and work in the natural sciences.
Ant specimens named in honor of Mary Treat
November 17 @ 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm EST (USA)
Zoom link will be emailed to members.
Meetings are free and open to the public.
October 27, 2021 • Wednesday, 4pm •
Virtual American Entomological Society Meeting
Dr. Michelle Duennes, Assistant Professor of Biology, St. Vincent College
https://maduennes.wordpress.com/
Using molecular tools to understand how environmental stressors impact bumble bees
Poor nutrition due to a lack of floral resources, pesticide exposure, and climate change all have direct effects on the health, stability, and fitness of bumble bees. This talk will discuss how Dr. Michelle Duennes and colleagues have used and are using -omics approaches to understand how these factors work individually and synergistically to affect bumble bee health at the individual level via laboratory manipulations and at the population level through wild bumble bees in the Sierra Nevada.
June 23, 2021 • Wednesday, 4pm •
Virtual American Entomological Society Seminar
Dr. Kathryn Weglarz, Assistant Professor of Biology, Westfield State University, Westfield, Massachusetts
Using Existing Entomological Data to Improve Conservation Efforts and Undergraduate Education
Guest lecture by Dr. Kathryn Weglarz:
https://www.westfield.ma.edu/academics/biology-department/kathryn-weglarz
May 26, 2021 • Wednesday, 4pm •
Virtual American Entomological Society Seminar
Dr. Jessica L. Ware, Associate Curator of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History
Dragonfly, Damselfly and Dictyopteran Evolutionary History
Dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata) are charismatic freshwater insects, but their systematics have been difficult to resolve using traditional molecular methods. The results of new genomic level phylogenetic work has influenced our understanding of the evolution of reproductive strategies in this group. Termite diet driven diversification will be reviewed briefly.
April 28, 2021 • Wednesday, 4pm
Virtual American Entomological Society Meeting
Edible Insects: Western Taboo Food or Healthy, Eco-friendly Diet of the Future?
Worldwide, many cultures embrace entomophagy, the eating of insects. Grasshoppers, mealworms, giant water bugs, and many other insects are eaten out of choice, not as famine food in times of scarcity. So, why haven’t western societies embraced entomophagy? And why should they? Sujaya Rao will share her perspectives, and leave you with ‘food for thought’, in lieu of food with bugs!
https://www.entomology.umn.edu/faculty-staff/sujaya-rao
We will also Present the Calvert Awards for the best entomological science projects in the Philadelphia region – junior and high school students
March 24, 2021 • Wednesday, 4pm
Virtual American Entomological Society Meeting
Detecting Climate-Driven Macroscale Changes in Boreal and Tundra Butterfly Communities
Earth’s boreal and tundra regions are facing some of the most extreme climatic changes on the planet, yet our knowledge of insect biodiversity in this region is sparse. Here I use museum and community science observations to assess how threatened butterfly communities are responding to climate change within western subpolar North America over the past 5 decades.
February 23, 2021, Wednesday, 4pm
Virtual American Entomological Society Meeting
Parasite Hunters: Engaging the Hunting Community to Uncover the Status of Ticks, Deer Keds, and their Pathogens
The speaker, Karen Poh, Penn State University, Postdoctoral Scholar, will discuss the Parasite Hunter project, a community science project involving hunters to collect ticks and deer keds from hunter-harvested deer. The goal of this research is to protect hunters and other outdoor enthusiasts from vector-borne diseases by determining the distribution of ticks and deer keds on white-tailed deer, identifying the pathogens they may carry, and highlighting the tactics people take to prevent vector-borne diseases while outdoors.
December 2, 2020, Wednesday, 4pm
Virtual American Entomological Society Meeting
Finding Our Way to Greener Pastures:
Successes and Challenges of Regal Fritillary Butterfly Conservation, Grassland Management, and Reintroductions
The speakers, Erika McKinney and Virginia Tilden will discuss the ongoing efforts in the conservation of the Regal Fritillary Butterfly in eastern North America, including reintroduction efforts.
October 28, 2020, Wednesday, 4pm •
Virtual American Entomological Society Meeting
Investigating Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) Movement Ecology to Inform Conservation Strategies
Kelsey E. Fisher,
Iowa State University
Department of Entomology – Ph.D. Candidate
Center for Communication Excellence (CCE) – Interdisciplinary Writing Consultant
View her paper here:
Employing Very High Frequency (VHF) Radio Telemetry to Recreate Monarch Butterfly Flight Paths
February 26, 2020, Wednesday, 7 pm •
American Entomological Society Meeting
Stream Restoration in the Delaware Basin:
Insects as Bioindicators
Stefanie A. Kroll, Ph.D., Watershed Ecology Section Leader
Delaware River Watershed Initiative
Patrick Center for Environmental Research
Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
Assistant Research Professor
Department of Biodiversity, Earth and Environmental Science
Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University