Member Symposia & Workshops
Member Symposia
Following a successful pilot at Ento25, we are delighted to introduce member‑led symposia as a formal part of this year’s programme. These sessions will run alongside our existing talks, creating a third parallel stream and offering even more opportunities for engagement. Designed to give members a platform to lead discussions, share research, and highlight new innovations in entomology, the symposia are central to Ento’s culture of membership collaboration.
We are pleased to confirm the following symposia, which will be incorporated into the Ento26 programme.
Celebrating 200 years of entomology – reflecting on the past and looking to the future
Organiser: The Entomological Club
The aim of the symposium is to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Entomological Club through discussions on how insect science and our appreciation of insects has advanced during that time, as well as looking to the future.
The past 200 years have seen major advances in our understanding of insects, recognition of their importance in the functioning of ecosystems as well as their role as pests and vectors of disease. The evolutionary processes that have led to the incredible diversity of insects on earth are much better understood, and technology advances continue to help support insect science e.g. through citizen science recording apps and AI identification of insects. Insects are also facing Anthropocene environments that are very different from those 200 years ago, including climate and land-use change and more intensive agriculture.
The symposium will be an opportunity to celebrate 200 years of advancing knowledge about insects and discuss what the next 200 years may bring for insects and the challenges and opportunities for our studies of them.
Advisory and Diagnostic Services
Organisers: Anna Platoni, Forest Research & Josie Stuart, RHS
Advisory and diagnostic entomologists are often the first point of contact between entomologists and the wider world providing stakeholders with services including identification expertise and management advice. These services often generate data that can be used for a variety of purposes, including insect monitoring and early alerts of non-native species, adding value by extending the reach of entomologists over a much wider area and scope.
Come along to hear from a range of Advisory Entomologists about the service they run, the advice that they give and the data that is generated from their work. Hosted by the brand new Advisory & Diagnostics SIG.
This symposia relates to the Grand Challenges of Entomology themes of Knowledge Access, Societal Engagement and Pests.
Vector competence and environmental drivers of vectorial capacity
Organisers: Marion England, The Pirbright Institute & Arran Folly, Animal and Plant Health Agency
This symposium will focus on the latest research underpinning our knowledge about the drivers of vector competence and vectorial capacity.
Genetic determinants of vector competence have been studied, for example, in mosquitoes, yet population differences exist within the same species. Global anthropogenic change, including urbanisation, may impact various components of vectorial capacity. Further, recent explorations have been made to characterise vector gut microbiome, and the interaction between host blood meal, pathogen, gut microbiota and vector immunity is a novel and expanding area of research.
To this end, we invite speakers to highlight recent advances in understanding these interactions, as well as environmental drivers of vectorial capacity to encourage discussion of the current understanding across a range of pathogens and vector groups. We will look to ensure that a range of vector groups and pathogens are represented to encourage the sharing of translatable discoveries, research ideas and techniques.
Approaches in Entomology: Methods, Ethics and Philosophies
Organiser: Jordan Cuff, University of Newcastle
Photo credit: Brown Argus butterfly by Richard Sheldrake
Insect science is a dynamic and continually evolving field, driven equally by the methods we develop, critique and use, and the philosophies that guide our investigations, interpretations and applications. Advances in technology allow us to study insects at unprecedented spatial, temporal and molecular scales, revealing deeper insights into the mechanisms by which they shape our ecosystems, production systems and human health.
At the same time, evolving philosophical perspectives are reshaping how we design our experiments, infer new phenomena, openly share our findings and ethically conduct our research. Together, methods and philosophies form the foundations of insect science from which progress across entomology ultimately arises.
Sharing and critically reflecting on these approaches is essential for innovation in entomology to extend beyond individual laboratories and subdisciplines to benefit the wider scientific community. These advances are, however, typically scattered across journals, disciplines and informal exchanges, often struggling to find a suitable home, limiting their visibility and impact. To address this need, the Royal Entomological Society is launching a new journal dedicated to methods and philosophies across insect science: Approaches in Entomology. This journal provides a dedicated forum for the dissemination, evaluation and development of innovative approaches across the full breadth of insect science with a particular emphasis on methods and philosophies.
To celebrate and share the launch of Approaches in Entomology, we are pleased to host a symposium at Ento focused on advances in methods and philosophies across insect science. This symposium is intended not only as a showcase for exciting new approaches, but also as a space for reflection, discussion and exchange on how entomology is practised, how it is continually evolving and how it might develop into the future. The symposium will reflect the full scope of Approaches in Entomology, which publishes innovative and impactful advances in methods, techniques and concepts across the multidisciplinary landscape of entomology. This includes all stages of entomological research, from laboratory-based experimentation and field methodologies to computational, statistical and interpretative approaches. Importantly, the journal also embraces philosophical contributions that evaluate the assumptions, values and frameworks underpinning entomological research, including ethics, welfare, inference and interdisciplinarity.
This symposium will feature speakers whose work exemplifies innovative and reflective approaches to entomology, including research aligned with the aims of Approaches in Entomology. By bringing together researchers from a diversity of subdisciplines and career stages, the symposium will catalyse cross-cutting conversations about how methods and philosophies shape the questions we ask, the knowledge we generate and the impact of insect science on society.
Direct and indirect effects of anthropogenic global change on insects
Organisers: Shannon Murphy, University of Denver & Sheena Cotter, University of Lincoln
Photo credit: Oliver Krueger
Anthropogenic environmental change has profound impacts on insects and studies suggest that human activities are likely causing catastrophic declines in insect populations.
While we are learning more and more about how global change drivers affect specific insect species and their abundances, we lack a comprehensive understanding of the interacting direct and indirect effects that these drivers have on insects.
This symposium will provide an opportunity for researchers to present their research on both the direct and indirect effects of anthropogenic change on insects, including but not limited to studies of behaviour, community ecology, ecosystem ecology, parental effects, species interactions, trophic interactions, etc.
Alongside our Member Symposia, we will also have a series of workshops for all to get involved.
