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ISH and ISH endowment student travel awards for International Congress of Entomology 2020

The student travel awards have been created to support and encourage postgraduate students working on the systematics, ecology, physiology or some other aspect of the insect order Hymenoptera, which is being undertaken as part of a postgraduate program (MSc, PhD or equivalent qualification).

For this round, the Society is pleased to be able to offer four travel awards to support full-time postgraduate students to present their research at the International Congress of Entomology in Helsinki, Finland (19-24 July 2020). These awards are being funded by the ISH itself and by the ISH Endowment Fund, and two types of awards with different eligibility criteria are offered:

  • Two USD 1,500 awards restricted to current ISH student members – without country restriction
     
  • Two USD 1,500 awards restricted to students from countries other than than the 30 most developed countries as listed by the UN Development Program ( Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong – China (SAR), Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea (Republic of), Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States); this award is open to students who are not current ISH members

Please contact the Secretary of the Society (Natalie Dale-Skey; n (dot) dale-skey (at) nhm (dot) ac (dot) uk ) for more information and details of the application and selection process.

The deadline to apply for these awards is 7 December 2019.

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Call for proposals for 2022 ISH Congress location

If you are interested in hosting the 10th Congress of the Society in 2022 please submit a 1-2 page proposal to our President and President-Elect (Barb.Sharanowski [at] ucf.edu, lars.krogmann [at] smns-bw.de):

  • Proposals should be sent by e-mail by 1 January 2019.
  • Proposals must include a brief outline of reasons for the choice of location (e.g. unique location or long overdue, access to a unique membership, location appeal, identification of a team of local organizers and support network, potential venue, potential registration and meeting costs, and opportunities for fieldwork; all points are to be addressed).
  • Proposals will be evaluated by the Executive Committee, and bidders contacted by February 2019.
  • Successful bidders will be required to submit a more complete proposal by 30 May 2019, including details on dates, hotels, room charges, registration estimates and a business plan for the meeting, post-congress activities such as collecting trips, and congress activities such as visits to nearby natural areas and tourist locations, archaeological or historical sites, etc.
  • These proposals will be evaluated by the Executive Committee and the successful bid announced by 1 July 2019.
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ISH meeting at ESA 2018: talk by Brian Fisher and students symposium

The Society will be holding a meeting during the ESA annual meeting in Vancouver (11-14 November 2018 –https://www.entsoc.org/events/annual-meeting/about-2018).

We will have a students’ symposium, and I am delighted to announce that Brian Fisher, from the California Academy of Sciences, will be giving a talk:

Why are entomologists sitting on the conservation sidelines? Insects and People (IPSIO.org): efforts to end the silence on habitat loss in Madagascar.

Insects are everywhere, yet invisible in most conservation efforts. Since terrestrial ecosystems make no sense except in light of insects, this is short-sighted and unfortunate. The time is now for entomologists to end their silence on the loss of insect habitats. After all, how much tropical forest will be left in 50 years?

Madagascar, a locus of biodiversity research, is a prime example. Since 2001, we have inventoried over 350 localities across the island, visiting all major habitats, soil types and bioclimates, processing millions of specimens, training students, and collaborating with 180 taxonomists. Despite the scale of this effort, knowing the name of any insect, its habits, its distribution, whether it is endangered, or whether it is invasive remains difficult. Given the breakneck speed of habitat destruction, shouldn’t we try to apply our knowledge to protect habitats, monitor ecosystems, and link the health of humans to that of the natural world.

Large-scale biodiversity inventories have failed to save a single forest. The current entomological effort could be characterized as haphazard and opportunistic and does not focus on concrete conservation advances. Instead, taxonomic advances are driven by individual interests and not on collective need.

The Insects and People of the Southwest Indian Ocean (IPSIO) network aims to help entomologists focus their efforts on local outcomes. IPSIO provides the organizational infrastructure to translate taxonomic research into conservation improvements, providing vetted data for conservation assessments, forest restoration, and invasive species monitoring. Other efforts include using insects as food and insects in tourism.

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9th Congress of the International Society of Hymenopterists

9th Congress of the International Society of Hymenopterists: save the date!

The 9th Congress of the Society will be held in Matsuyama City, Japan, from 23 to 27 July 2018, with two collecting trips to be organised in connection with the meeting. The registration fee has not been finalised yet but is estimated to be $300-350 (for early bird registration) and $200 for students.

Some information can already be found on the website (still under construction) of the Organizing Committee:

https://sites.google.com/site/ishcongress9/