Diptera Strangelove, Tuesday May 4 @ 7:30 pm

Illinois Mycological Association Presents

Diptera Strangelove
Presented by Britt Bunyard


Tuesday, May 3, 2016 @ 7:30 pm

Niles Historical Society
8970 Milwaukee Avenue
Niles, IL 60714

Or, How the fly learned to stop worrying about amatoxins and love the death cap.

There is to be no fighting in the War Room! You know how you’ve always heard do not eat Amanita mushrooms…they’re deadly poisonous to all animals? Well it’s not entirely true. This presentation is by Britt Bunyard who has studied mushroom flies, and other insects associated with mushrooms, for decades. Diptera Strangelove is a lecture, with pretty photos, for all audiences with no prior knowledge needed. The focus will be on strange mushrooms and the stranger insects that love them…in strange ways. Oh and if you’ve never seen the classic movie Doctor Strangelove, now you have a good excuse. There may be a quiz.

Britt Bunyard is the founder, Publisher, and Editor in Chief of the mycology journal FUNGI which has the largest circulation of any mycological publication in North America. He also has worked as a full-time Biology professor in Ohio and Wisconsin, teaching a broad range of undergraduate and graduate courses in Evolution, Microbiology, Mycology, Invertebrate Zoology, Biochemistry and Environmental Science. The main focus of Britt’s research interests has centered on the coevolution of macrofungi and Diptera, the true flies. Bunyard has coauthored (2012) the recent book Mushrooms and Macrofungi of Ohio and Midwestern States: A Resource Handbook. published by The Ohio State University Press. Other scholarly achievements include publication of scientific papers in 16 different international research journals, two book chapters, one patent, articles in popular science magazines, and one full-length book of travel essays from living in Southeast Asia. Britt has served as Editor-in-Chief of NAMA’s journal McIlvanea and newsletter The Mycophile, and as a Subject Editor for the Entomological Society of America’s journal Annals of the Entomological Society of America. Britt gives several invited lectures in North America and abroad each year and regularly takes part in many mycological events and forays.

A note on our location:
Niles Historical Center is about a tenth of a mile Southeast from the Golf-Mill Shopping center. The former sheriff's office has parking adjacent to the building. The meeting room is on the third floor and is accessible by elevator as well as a large staircase. Restrooms are available on first and third floors. A museum volunteer will open the building for us Monday evening. For public transport from the city, take the Blue Line to the Jefferson Park CTA Station, from there it is 20 minutes on the PACE #270 bus to Milwaukee and Elizabeth. The museum is open to the public Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 10:30 AM to 3:00 PM.

http://www.illinoismyco.org/home