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We meet on the third or fourth Saturday of every month, from September to November and from January to April. Most meetings are available virtually but for hybrid meetings, the in-person location may be at the University of Toronto campus, the ROM or the Toronto Zoo. When possible, meetings are recorded and posted on this website. The Ramsay Wright building at the University of Toronto is normally locked on the weekend. For meetings in that building, someone will be at the door letting people in until the start of the meeting, but please arrive between 1 p.m. and 1:15 p.m. at the latest. Underground parking is available approximately one 1 block west on Harbord under Graduate House, accessible by the Lane East Spadina North Harbord and Glenn Morris St.).
Meetings 2024-25 Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. 1:15 pm - 2:30 pm. Hybrid: by Zoom and also in person at Room 432, Ramsay Wright Laboratories, University of Toronto, 25 Harbord Street East. See video of the meeting, speaker by speaker: Alan Macnaughton; Lynne Freeman; Barb Hacking, Pierre Robillard and Kasra Prakash; Donna Rice, Albert Tomchyshyn and Antonia Guidotti; and Karen Yukich, Bob Yukich, Steve Taylor and Don Davis.
Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. 1:15 pm - 2:30 pm. Hybrid: by Zoom and also in person at Room 432, Ramsay Wright Laboratories, University of Toronto, 25 Harbord Street East. See video of the meeting. Insects largely navigate their environment through odour detection, relying on scent cues to signal the presence of food or looming threats—each prompting a unique behavioural response. But what if we could harness these olfactory cues to predict insect behaviour, or even better, use them to reduce harmful pests and even train bees to detect explosives? In this presentation, I will explore the techniques used to identify key chemical compounds and examine specific odours that drive insect behaviour. By deepening our understanding of these interactions, we can uncover natural, innovative strategies for pest control, as well as open new avenues for applications in forensic entomology.
Saturday, November 23, 2024. 1 pm - 2:30 pm. Tenth Annual Quimby F. Hess Lecture. Royal Ontario Museum Theatre. See video of the meeting. New discoveries are always on the horizon for those interested in insects and their names, with potential discoveries ranging from the routine pleasure of finding a species "new to you" through to the thrill of recognizing a species, genus, or even a family new to science. Such discoveries are interesting in their own right, but they also reflect the state of biodiversity knowledge by illustrating what we do and don't know about temperate and tropical insect diversity. Examples drawn from specialized revisions of insect genera and broader "popular" reviews of familiar insect orders suggest that the seemingly boundless diversity of the megadiverse insect orders will remain a source of inspiration and exciting discovery for generations to come. Prof. Marshall is the author of two editions of a book on the natural history and diversity of insects, a visual guide to insects, and 3 recent books on beetles, flies and Hymenoptera (ants, bees and wasps). The Hymenoptera book is the most recent and most relevant volume. See this page for a full list. Quimby F. Hess was a TEA president and a member of the TEA for over 40 years. This lecture is sponsored in his memory by his children Jane and Robert Hess. The public are invited. Saturday, January 25, 2025. 1:15 pm - 2:30 pm. By Zoom. See video of the meeting. We are losing biodiversity at an alarming rate. Monitoring species in the wild can help conservation managers identify species and populations at risk and provide an understanding of how species are responding to ongoing threats. Here I draw on examples from our work on the Glanville Fritillary (a Eurasian species) to demonstrate the value of long-term monitoring for understanding adaptive capacity of butterflies in the face of climate change. I then introduce a new citizen-science butterfly monitoring program in Ontario, that will provide critical insight into the impacts of climate change across many species. Dr. Michelle DiLeo is a research scientist at the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and an adjunct professor at Trent University where she leads a spatial ecology, evolution, and conservation research group. Her work integrates landscape ecology, monitoring, and genomics to understand species-at-risk responses to habitat modification and climate change. Saturday, February 22, 2025. 1:15 pm - 2:30 pm. By Zoom. See video of the meeting. References from her talk (of which all but the last are open access): (1) Hällfors, Maria H., et al., (2) Van Bergen, Erik, et al., (3) Salgado, Ana L., Michelle F. DiLeo, and Marjo Saastamoinen., and (4) Crossley, Michael S., et al. This presentation will demonstrate how volunteers can participate in certain aspects of scientific research through online portals. This may include ecological monitoring and research in the field, e.g., recording first egg dates of nesting birds, monitoring aquatic macroinvertebrate populations, digitizing ledgers, or specimen labels. The ROM’s and CNC’s projects focus on digitizing specimen label data for import into our collection management systems. Our data can then be published to Canadensys and harvested by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) for use by individuals across the globe. Our digitizing platform is Notes from Nature, one of many organizations found on the Zooniverse. Anyone with an internet connection can register as a volunteer and become involved with our projects. Brad Hubley has worked in the entomology collection of the Royal Ontario Museum since 1985. His primary responsibilities have centred on the management of the approximately 10 million insect specimens in the collection. Brad has participated in biodiversity surveys in a variety of countries including Canada, Costa Rica, Guyana, Indonesia, Sarawak, Vietnam, Palau, and the US. He is a co-author of the ROM Field Guide to the Butterflies of Ontario and Spiders of Toronto, A Guide to their Remarkable World. He will be retiring this April from the ROM. Michelle Locke has worked for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada since 2016. Michelle manages the CNC’s specimen database and curates specimens in the collection, making sure they remain in good condition. Among her many duties, she oversees the digitization of specimens and makes the data accessible to scientists. She has even described a few species new to science! She is a co-author of the Field Guide to the Flower Flies of Northeastern North America (she spoke to TEA about the guide in Feb 2020) and is the former secretary of the Entomological Society of Ontario. Saturday, March 22, 2025. 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm. By Zoom. Undergraduate and graduate students at Ontario universities make presentations about their work (abstracts). See videos: Sulphur butterflies' hybridization in Toronto (Amanda Sabatino); dragonfly nymphs and road salt (Hannah Bodmer); overcoming challenges in insect research (Emma Dickson); new Hymenoptera taxa (Nora Romero); do observers on iNaturalist over-sample the most showy species (Spencer Kielar); hoverfly migration (Tessa Kathleen Fortnum); and mayfly populations in St. Catharines (Wynne Reichheld).
Saturday, April 26, 2025. 1:00 pm. In-person only. This event will be in the atrium of the Toronto Zoo Administration Building (361A Old Finch Ave in Scarborough). Members will share their experiences with rearing insects and other arthropods. There will be lots of show and tell. Meetings of past years 2023-2024 Saturday, September 23, 2023. Saturday, October 21, 2023. . Saturday, November 25, 2023. By Zoom. Saturday, January 27, 2024. By Zoom. Saturday, March 2, 2024. By Zoom. Saturday, March 23, 2024. By Zoom. Saturday, April 20. 2022-2023 Saturday, September 17, 2022. By Zoom. Saturday, October 22, 2022. By Zoom. Saturday, November 19, 2022. By Zoom. Saturday, January 28, 2023. By Zoom. Saturday, February 25, 2023. 1:15 pm - 3:00 pm. By Zoom. Saturday, March 25, 2023. By Zoom. Saturday, April 22, 2023. By Zoom.
2021-2022 Saturday, September 25, 2021 Saturday, November 27, 2021 Saturday, January 22, 2022 Saturday, February 26, 2022 Saturday, March 26, 2022 Saturday, April 23, 2022 Land use and climate change changes pose extraordinary risks for many species, including many insects, leading to debate over an impending “insect apocalypse”. There should be no debate, however, that extinction rates have risen to levels last seen at the end of the age of the dinosaurs. While the processes and mechanisms that govern how some threats contribute to extinction risk are clear, the "how" and "why" of climate-driven risks remain uncertain. As climate changes, the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events have risen, but could such events affect species' extinction risks? We have developed a new technique to measure those effects, called "thermal position index", drawing on fundamental theories in ecology and evolutionary biology. With rising prevalence of extreme weather, we have found evidence that species' extinction risks have risen, such as among bumblebee species in Europe and North America. By identifying mechanisms that contribute to extinction risk, we might be able to manage risks more effectively. This work has now been validated in analyses of population trends among vertebrates globally. In a warming world, understanding how to mitigate risks for species conservation, including especially insects that commonly have shorter life cycles, could help slow extinction rates. Saturday, May 28, 2022
2020-2021 The regular meetings for September to November were cancelled due to COVID-19. Saturday, January 23, 2021 Saturday, February 27, 2021 Saturday, March 27, 2021. 1 pm - 3:15 pm. By Zoom. Saturday, April 24, 2021
2019-2020 Saturday, September 22, 2019 Saturday, November 23, 2019 Saturday, January 25, 2020 Saturday, February 29, 2020. The regular meetings for March and April were cancelled due to COVID-19. Saturday, November 23, 2019. 1:30 pm - 2:45 pm. Ninth Annual Quimby F. Hess Lecture. Royal Ontario Museum Theatre. This event is free but you must pre-register on the ROM website. Under "Buy Tickets," choose "Public (RSVP Only): Free” (unless you have a ROM membership). A reception for TEA members and the Hess family will follow the lecture. Enter through the President's Choice School Entrance (group entrance), which is at the back of the ROM along Queen's Park. Please note that registering for this lecture does not grant you entry into museum galleries. Discover the world of ticks with entomologist Nicholas Ogden, as he discusses their importance as blood-sucking parasites. Explore how environmental changes may affect the global distributions of these enigmatic creatures and the diseases they spread, and what this means for public health in Canada. Dr. Nick Ogden is a UK-trained veterinarian (University of Liverpool, 1983). After 10 years of mixed clinical practice, he then completed a doctorate in Lyme disease ecology at the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford in 1996. During the six years he spent as a lecturer at the Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Liverpool, he continued his research of tick-borne diseases of public health importance in Europe and those of importance to livestock production in Africa. In 2002 Dr. Ogden moved to Canada, where he continues his research on Lyme disease at the Public Health Agency of Canada. Quimby F. Hess was a TEA president and a member of the TEA for over 40 years. This lecture is sponsored in his memory by his children Jane and Robert Hess and their respective spouses Laura and John. The public are invited. 2018-2019 Saturday, September 22, 2018 Saturday, December 1, 2018 Saturday, January 26, 2019 Saturday, February 23, 2019 Saturday, March 23, 2019 Saturday, April 13, 2019
2017-2018 Saturday, September 23, 2017 Saturday, November 25, 2017 Saturday, December 2, 2017 Saturday, January 27, 2018 Saturday, February 24, 2018 Saturday, March 24, 2018 Sunday, April 21, 2018 2016-2017 Saturday, September 24, 2016 Saturday, November 19, 2016 Saturday, January 21, 2017 Saturday, February 25, 2017 Saturday, March 25, 2017 Sunday, April 23, 2017
2015-2016 Saturday, September 24, 2016 Saturday, November 21, 2015 Saturday, January 23, 2016 Saturday, February 27, 2016 Saturday, March 19, 2016 Saturday, April 16, 2016 2014-15 Saturday, September 27, 2014 Saturday, October 25, 2014 Saturday, November 22, 2014 Saturday, January 24, 2015 Saturday, February 28, 2015 Saturday, March 28, 2015 Saturday, April 25, 2015
2013-14 Saturday, September 28, 2013 Saturday, October 19, 2013 Saturday, November 16, 2013 Saturday, January 18, 2014 Saturday, February 22, 2014 Saturday, March 22, 2014 Saturday, April 26, 2014
2012-13 Saturday, September 22, 2012 Saturday, October 20, 2012 Saturday, November 17, 2012 Saturday, January 26, 2013 Saturday, February 23, 2013 Saturday, March 23, 2013 Saturday, April 27, 2013
2011-12 Saturday, September 24, 2011 Saturday, October 29, 2011 Saturday, November 19, 2011 Saturday, January 28, 2012 Saturday, February 25, 2012 Saturday, March 24, 2012 Saturday, April 28, 2012
2010-11 Saturday, September 25, 2010 Saturday, October 23, 2010 Saturday, November 27, 2010 Saturday, January 22, 2011 Saturday February 26, 2011 Saturday, March 26, 2011
2009-10 Saturday, September 26, 2009 Saturday, October 24, 2009 Saturday, November 28, 2009 Saturday, January 23, 2010 Saturday, February 27, 2010 Saturday, March 27, 2010 Saturday, April 24, 2010
2008-09 Saturday September 27, 2008 Saturday, October 25, 2008 Saturday, November 22, 2008 Saturday, January 24, 2009 Saturday February 28, 2009 Saturday March 28, 2009 Saturday, April 25, 2009
2007-08 Saturday, September 22, 2007 Saturday, October 25, 2007 Saturday, November 24, 2007 Saturday, January 26, 2008 Saturday, February 23, 2008 Saturday, March 29, 2008 Saturday April 26, 2008
2006-07 Saturday, September 23, 2006 Saturday, October 21, 2006 Saturday, November 25, 2006 Saturday, January 27, 2007 Saturday February 24, 2007 Saturday, March 24, 2007 Saturday, April 28, 2007
2005-06 Saturday, September 24, 2005 1 PM Saturday, October 22, 2005 Saturday, November 26, 2005 Saturday, January 28, 2006 Saturday, February 25, 2006 Saturday, March 25, 2006 Saturday, April 22, 2006
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