It is my great pleasure to invite you to participate in the session Systematics and Morphology of the 1st International Electronic Conference on Entomology. The obligate interconnection of morphology and systematics is one of the oldest in biology. Although both morphology and systematics have undergone conceptual, theoretical, philosophical and especially methodological innovation in recent decades, they remain essential for almost all disciplines of entomology such as physiology, ecology, evolutionary biology, molecular genetics, applied entomology etc.

We cordially invite scientists at all career stages and from all backgrounds to share their latest research in all areas of insect systematics and morphology. This e-conference is a unique opportunity where we can apply the principles of equality and inclusion, so we specially encourage early carrier scientists and students (graduate and undergraduate) from developing countries to take part into this session and share their research with wide scientific audience.

Session description from Dr. Erin Scully

The ecological niches, behaviors, and physiological capabilities of insects are incredibly diverse and, yet, in many cases, we do not understand the developmental and biochemical processes that regulate these diverse phenotypes, especially in non-model insect species. However, the cost of long-read sequencing has been drastically reduced, and sequencing and assembly approaches have become more sophisticated, which have significantly reduced the burden for obtaining genome sequences for non-model organisms and will allow comparative and functional genomics approaches to be applied to broader groups of insects. This session focuses on three major topic areas: 1) the development of genomics resources for non-model insects and how those resources will be utilized to identify candidate genes for understanding diverse insect phenotypes; 2) the combination of classical genetics approaches with emerging bioinformatic approaches to identify candidate genes for various phenotypes; and 3) the use of machine learning and/or multi-omics approaches to identify biochemical pathways linked to specific phenotypes in insects. Overall, the goals of this session are to highlight the growing number of genomic resources for insects and also emphasize how these resources can be used to understand insect biology.

Session description from Dr. Mihailo Jelić

Insects (and other entomological species) are very diverse in their morphology, behavior, genome organization, and their relationship to humans, offering an unprecedented subject for genetic and genomic research, either as a model species or direct object of research.

The species of the dipteran genus Drosophila have been well known as indispensable research models since studies of genetics took root and are among the first metazoan species with a sequenced genome. Recent rapid developments in sequencing technology and bioinformatic tools and pipelines have yielded genome sequences for several hundreds of insect species of diverse orders, and even more transcriptomes, providing resources for functional analysis that aim to decipher the functional links between genotype, phenotype, and environment. Having this in mind, increasingly more insect species are becoming model organisms, or research objects, in diverse fields of genetic research. It is known that expansions and contractions of gene families and their regulation (including epigenetic mechanisms) have yielded diverse insect properties, but many questions remain open and more functional experiments and research studies are needed.

With the accelerating accumulation of data, promotion of the collaboration between geneticists and entomologists with different perspectives is of high priority. Therefore, our session welcomes a wide range of topics in genetics – from scientists that implement omics techniques dealing with entomological species and provide resources to those that functionally link genotype to phenotype; from those that use model species to find genes and pathways which are regulated in response to genomic or environmental stress to developmental geneticists, molecular biologists, or those that analyze genetic variation in natural or experimental populations of different insect species.

Session description From Prof. Dr. Kristopher Giles

Noxious and beneficial insects colonize most ecosystems on earth, utilizing resources in a variety of habitats. The extraordinary number of species vary in their biology, behaviors and physiology and are the focus of research objectives by scientists all over the world. This research includes studies on movement, feeding, communication, reproduction, dispersal, flight, migration, selection of hosts or prey, as well as responses to environmental hazards. This session welcomes papers from any research topic related to insect biology, behavior and physiology. Scientific findings will lead to a more comprehensive understanding of the unique biology, behavior and physiology of insects and will inform management approaches for pest species and conservation efforts for beneficial species.

Session description From Prof. Dr. Blas Lavandero

Insects are recognized as one of the most important groups of living beings worldwide, as they provide important ecosystem services. Without them, life on Earth would be impossible. Despite this, severe anthropogenic threats—habitat loss and fragmentation, urbanization, pollution, invasive species, climate change and overharvesting—still pressing biodiversity and biomass, ecology and their evolutionary trajectories, across the biosphere.

The 1st International Electronic Conference on Entomology offers you a virtual space to share, with a broad audience, oral presentation on your most recent scientific achievements. This section is pleased to welcome high-quality contributions on the topics of the biodiversity, ecology and evolution of insects, based on fundamental or applied research, integrating all levels of biological organization, from organisms to ecosystems, both natural and anthropogenic, and contrasting continental and insular contexts.

Session description from Dr. Rob Morrison

The pest management session will feature the latest state-of-the-art research from around the world on sustainably managing insects before and after harvest. Submissions are welcome on the management of insects through chemical, biological, behavioral, physical, or cultural control. This session invites cutting edge fundamental and applied research at numerous scales, including laboratory, semi-field, and field. Priority will be given to studies using volatiles, compounds, genes, or technology to improve management of economically important insects. Commodities may include specialty crops, row crops, stored and postharvest products, as well as greenhouse production. Work on managing or monitoring invasive and quarantine species is also welcome. The goal is to represent a diversity of pest management projects by early career and established researchers from around the world engaged in advancing the discipline of entomology.

Session description from Professor Brighton M. Mvumi

There is renewed interest in pest management in response to steadily increasing pesticide use that is resulting in pest control crises due to the development of resistant pests and outbreaks of secondary pests. There is also increasing evidence and awareness of the pest management costs – financially and to human health and the environment – of intensive pesticide use. Researchers are challenged with developing innovative solutions to these global issues, including changing climates. Integrated pest management (IPM) has often been proffered as a viable solution but is it being applied? Is it working? Under what contexts?

The purpose of this session is to review the science and practice of pest management and present specialized tools and methods for insect pest surveillance and population management that can be translated from one target insect pest species to other species in a different field or under different circumstances. We seek cross-cutting novel or established pest management methods with particular emphasis on why and how they work, under what circumstances, and how to translate them to practical management of other insect pest species. We welcome research in any pest management system, such as but not limited to agricultural, forest, stored-product, household, structural, veterinary, and medical pests. Cross-cutting issues such as gender, environmental impact, scale, institutions, policy, modelling, safety, socioeconomics, meta-analyses, and sustainability can also be addressed. Our overall objective is to increase the number of tools in the IPM toolbox by introducing novel techniques, critically reviewing existing ones, and/or modifying effective tools to new situations around the world.

Session description from Prof. Dr. Junwei (Jerry) Zhu

The journal Insects is sponsoring the first International Electronic Conference on Entomology, which will be held 1–15 July 2021. There is no travel required and registration is free; full papers will be selected from symposiums in Special Issues and published online (review by professional required). Pest management is one of the topics providing a major contribution to the conference, which will be a premier global event for presenting and learning about the latest research and strategies for effectively managing pests in agriculture, veterinary, and urban settings. This Section will focus on integrated pest management (IPM), which is a sustainable, science-based, decision-making process that combines biological, cultural, physical, and chemical tools to identify, manage, and reduce risk from pests and pest management tools and strategies in a way that minimizes overall economic, health, and environmental risks. Pests are defined as any insect and their associated organisms, including microbes, that pose economic, health, aesthetic, or environmental risks. There are two forms of presentations available: speaker and poster (virtual), which can include research, extensions, and teaching academics. We particularly welcome young scientists such as graduate students and post-docs to join us.

Globalization, land-use change, and climate change are just some of the factors that contribute to an ever-increasing threat to trees from native and non-native insect pests. Trees in both natural and managed environments may be impacted by pests traditionally thought of as “forest pests” or “urban pests”, as the changing environmental conditions and anthropogenic factors aid in the spread and increase the impact of many different tree pests. Attempting to encompass the latest achievements and advances in these fields of Entomology, Forestry, and Urban Tree Health, our session welcomes a wide range of topics. This session will highlight research from around the world focused on tree pests in natural and managed systems, from records of species that invaded novel forest and urban habitats to biological control programs that aim at mitigating their impact, and from studies that resolve intra- and interspecific patterns of genetic divergence to advances in monitoring and survey techniques.

Insects include an high number of species of medical and veterinary importance. Several species are responsible for the transmission of some of the most dangerous diseases for humans and animals. Good examples are represented by malaria, Chagas disease, leishmaniasis, African trypanosomiasis, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, dengue, yellow fever, and Zika. These diseases have an enormous socio-economic impact in countries where they occur. In this framework, the 1st International Electronic Conference on Entomology Section “Medical and Veterinary Entomology” welcomes contributions focused on the biology, ecology, behavior, systematics, evolution, vector competence, monitoring and control of insect and mite species of medical and veterinary importance. Multidisciplinary pest and vector management strategies, including Integrated Vector Management, One Health and Ecohealth, are of high interest. Epidemiological insights on vector-borne diseases are also covered by the present Session.

All researchers are encouraged to present their findings in a separate poster. As for papers presented at the conference, participants will be able to ask questions and make comments about the posters. Posters can be presented without an accompanying proceedings paper and will be available online on this website during and after the e-conference. They will be also added to the journal Proceedings of the conference.

Social and solitary bees are major and essential pollinators for crops and wild plants. More than 20,000 bee species provide pollination services in highly diverse terrestrial ecosystems and climatic regions around the world. The biology and ecology of bees, especially in urban and rural landscapes, is well studied for honey bees, some species of bumble bees, and solitary bees. For all other bee species, including tropical stingless bees, there are more open questions than a clear understanding for a variety of topics. This session welcomes contributions from all fields of apiculture and pollination, including ecology and biodiversity, conservation, behavior, physiology, development, pathology, bee health and toxicology. Another field is microbiology or microbiomes that are closely tied to physiology, immunity and nutrition. State-of-the-art methods to study bee molecular biology, genomics and other omics tools, as well as phylogeny are highly welcome to better understand bee ecology and evolution.