Tuesday, March 12th

In-Person Meeting
Virtual Zoom Option
7:30 PM EST

Talk Title: Uncovering the mysteries of insect waste removal: Why and how sharpshooter insects use droplet superpropulsion!

Dr. Elio Challita
Harvard Microbiotics Laboratory

Abstract: Consuming food and eliminating waste are essential processes for all living organisms. While the impact of feeding on animal anatomy and behavior has been extensively researched for over a century, the role of excretion in shaping and limiting animal behavior remains largely unexplored. In this presentation, I will explore how tiny sharpshooter insects, measuring just a few millimeters, efficiently remove their substantial waste by employing droplet superpropulsion – a process that allows them to propel droplets at speeds surpassing the underlying actuator through precise timing. I will also discuss the evolutionary reasons behind their adoption of this unique droplet ejection mechanism, drawing upon energetic and scaling principles.

NOTICE: We will be holding hybrid meetings to accommodate audience members from around the world.

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 MCZ 101 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 all.

New Date: Tuesday, February 20th

In-Person Meeting
Virtual Zoom Option
7:30 PM EST

Arthropod legs: novelty and homology over half a billion years




Dr. Heather S. Bruce
Marine Biological Laboratory

Abstract: Arthropods are the most successful group of animals on the planet, and this is in part due to incredible structures like insect wings, beetle horns, and crustacean carapaces. Many of these structures have been proposed to be novel structures that evolved anew in each lineage, but could some or even all of these structures be related somehow? And what does this tell us about how structures and their gene networks evolve over huge timescales of half a billion years?

NOTICE: We will be holding hybrid meetings to accommodate audience members from around the world.

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 MCZ 101 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 all.