Published: 26 August 2026.
Approaches in Entomology is the Royal Entomological Society’s new, and first purely open access, journal, spanning methods, philosophies and ethics. It opened for submissions earlier this year and we are delighted to announce that the first papers have now been published to issue.
Jayne Whiffin, Managing Editor at RES, caught up with Emilie Aimé (Director of Publications for RES) and the editorial team of Jordan Cuff, Meghan Barrett, Mike Bonsall and Beulah Garner, to find out more about the journal and how it’s developing.
Tell us a bit about how Approaches in Entomology came into being?
Emilie Aimé: We’re delighted to see AIE come to life! The RES Publications Committee regularly discuss the current entomological research landscape and how this fits with our journal portfolio. Whilst new methods have been considered by our other journals, they weren’t generally an area of focus, and we’ve discussed this as a gap for some time. Separately we are also interested in developments around open science, and the ethics of entomological research. However, research in this area did not seem to have a natural home.
We were also keen to offer an outlet for multi and cross disciplinary research across all of entomology rather than being discipline specific. Eventually after discussions, in particular with Jordan Cuff, these ideas coalesced to form the Approaches in Entomology scope – an innovative new journal to serve the entomological community.
Jordan Cuff: Emilie and I had discussed the idea of Approaches in Entomology for the first time at an RES event in 2023 and couldn’t stop discussing it from there! The premise arose from the distinct gap in entomological publishing that methodological research represented. Publishing, sharing and critically assessing methods is crucial for innovation and advancement in science, but insect science lacked a single home for such papers. As well, we discussed the problems with focusing just on practical methods, when the epistemology, ontology and ethics underpinning research are just as crucial for driving the field forward. Through my time as one of the Editors-in-Chief of Agricultural and Forest Entomology, this gap became increasingly evident.
AFE’s special issue on advances in insect biomonitoring highlighted the impressive range of methodological studies underway, alongside new methods article types trialled across some of the RES journals. We still lacked somewhere that these methods articles could not only find a dedicated home, but also where they could influence research communities beyond a single sub-discipline. Approaches in Entomology provides this home, being an interdisciplinary hub of papers related to how and why we do insect science.
What are your hopes for how this new journal will help develop entomological research practices?
Jordan Cuff: As mapped out in our launch editorial, I see Approaches in Entomology catalysing methodological advances and innovation, advancing dialogue surrounding philosophies and ethics, and facilitating several broader advances related to how we publish entomological research. I hope that Approaches in Entomology, by providing an interdisciplinary home for methodological studies across insect science, will allow not only the dissemination of practical and theoretical methods and concepts, but also the cross-pollination of ideas between sub-disciplines of entomology. Similarly, by encouraging explicit focus on the philosophies and ethics underpinning entomology, I hope that we can encourage new perspectives and advances that enhance how and why we study insects.
Why did you want to join the editorial team and what are you most looking forward to in your editorship of Approaches in Entomology?
Meghan Barrett: I am excited to steward a journal explicitly focused on creating space for rigorous interdisciplinary scholarship and the science of insect welfare. Both of these research areas are crucial but under-supported when it comes to the publishing process and Approaches in Entomology will be the perfect home for these papers.
Mike Bonsall: I wanted to be able to contribute to the development of a methods journal in entomology. Having venues for theoretical and methods research is extremely important across the insect sciences – so it’s really cool to have the opportunity to be involved in the journal. I’m most looking forward to being able to see the breadth of neat science coming in as submissions and published papers in Approaches in Entomology.
Beulah Garner: I joined Approaches in Entomology because my own work spans traditional taxonomy, museum collections, field biology and molecular phylogenetics, and I see enormous value in sharing the methods that connect these disciplines. I’m most looking forward to helping showcase rigorous, practical and innovative approaches that make entomological research more reproducible, accessible and useful across the community.
How do you hope Approaches in Entomology will lie alongside the other seven RES journals?
Jordan Cuff: I see Approaches in Entomology not just as a standalone entity within entomological publishing, but as a bridge between the existing seven journals of the Royal Entomological Society. Given its broad scope and focus, Approaches in Entomology will naturally overlap with the existing RES journals, providing opportunities for shared special issues and other joint ventures. The intention is that Approaches in Entomology can act as a ‘melting pot’ of ideas and concepts, catalysing other disciplines to adopt advances across traditionally impermeable boundaries. Given the importance of transparency and reproducibility when sharing new methods, Approaches in Entomology is also inherently linked to the RES’ wider open research roadmap. From being the first fully open access RES journal, to being first to integrate transparent peer review, Approaches in Entomology is leading the way in advancing the transparency of entomological publishing for the RES portfolio. I’m really excited for people to see the first couple of issues come through, which are already looking like they will exemplify the interdisciplinary vision for the journal!
You have recently published the opening editorial, what exciting developments are you already looking forward to showcasing in the first issue of the journal?
Jordan Cuff: The influx of exciting articles across the breadth of entomology has already exceeded expectations! It’s been great to see such enthusiasm for the journal and everything it represents. We’ve already published a couple of articles, with more accepted and many more undergoing peer review. We’ve had articles accepted covering the detection of termite infestations using vibrational data and machine learning, the automated monitoring of remote wild bumblebee nests and the impact of lighting conditions on insect detection and identification. Based on our current submissions, we’re expecting to publish articles over the coming months covering everything from novel perspectives on the epistemological foundations of insect science, through innovations in insect welfare, to historical perspectives on entomological methods. We can’t wait to share it all with you soon!
Editors’ Wish List:
For Approaches in Entomology to be:
- A thriving home for research related to how and why we conduct insect science
- A go-to home for papers related to entomological methods, practices and approaches
- An exciting place to read truly insightful and captivating papers from across entomology
- A catalyst for enhancing ethical best practice in entomology
- A source of inspiration for deeper thought and comprehension about how and why we study insects
- An innovative model for best practice in entomological publishing
- An opportunity to strengthen and connect the other RES journals
- A source of optimism and enthusiasm for the broader entomological community
Do you have a paper which might work in AIE?
Royal Entomological Society Members are given discounted rates to publish in Approaches in Entomology. Please log into your account and find the code under Resources for Members if you are a member.
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