ESA Call for Papers

 The Entomological Society of America has a rich history of publishing curated collections across the journals, serving the professional and scientific needs of entomologists and individuals in related disciplines.

The ESA invites you to submit your research to one of the upcoming special collections listed below. 

If you would like to propose a new special collection, please contact us at [email protected].

Journal of Insect Science - Advancement of Methods in Insect Science: From genes to ecosystems

The Journal of Insect Science seeks manuscript proposals for a special collection titled “Advancement of Methods in Insect Science: From genes to ecosystems.”

The guest editors welcome research on the advances in research techniques in biochemistry, genomics, molecular biology, physiology, ecology of insects and other terrestrial arthropods. Methods delving deeply into the molecular-to-ecosystem-level adaptation of insects are of particular interest. Special examples are given below.

• Molecular & Integrative Physiology
• Applied Molecular Biology
• Multiomics and phylogenomics
• Immunity and multitrophic interaction (microbe-insect-plant)
• Insect ecology and trending modeling approaches:
  • Time series: current approaches to modeling changes in insect abundance/occurrence through time.  
  • Species distribution models emphasize the availability of tools rather than theory, which has been covered elsewhere.
  • AI: image recognition, automated trapping
  • Quantitative aspects of precision agriculture.
  • Landscape ecology approaches in agricultural entomology (e.g., evaluating how insects respond to surrounding landscapes)
  • Landscape ecology approaches in forest entomology.
  • Community ecology analyses (e.g., Hill numbers)
  • Bayesian approaches.
  • Quantifying rates of spread (invading insects, range expansions)

Our goal is to showcase the benefits of integrating technological advancements into the study and management of insects, enabling us to comprehend and address complex biological dilemmas. Additionally, this compilation embraces the multitude of unique challenges that arise when investigating insect-related topics. Our objective is to gather techniques from esteemed authors who have made significant contributions to the approaches employed in insect research today. Ultimately, we aim to present an enjoyable, comprehensive, and easily understandable portrayal of state-of-the-art techniques in the field of insect science.

How to Participate 

We ask potential authors to contact to Amr Mohamed at [email protected] and include the working title, authors, and a brief description of the scope of the work for pre-approval.

Submission deadline: March 30th, 2025.

Insect Systematics and Diversity - Call for Review Papers

 Insect Systematics: Past, Present, and Future

For the past 265 years since the publication of the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, tremendous advances have been made in the field of insect systematics. Countless taxonomists from all corners of the world have collectively described and classified more than a million described species. With the development and maturation of phylogenetic theories and the ever-increasing ability to generate and analyze various data types, our understanding of the evolutionary relationships among different insect lineages is continuously deepening.

ISD would like to present an opportunity for the community of insect systematists to celebrate their achievements in the form of invited reviews. Ideally, we want to have a review paper for each major lineage of insects and terrestrial arthropods. The taxonomic scope can be at various levels from family to order, depending on how much has been written about the particular lineage. Articles should be synthetic, critical, and timely assessment of each taxon-specific field, and comprehensible to entomologists in general. We will compile these review articles into a digital collection, which can be used as teaching resources.

To ensure consistency across review papers, each manuscript must have the following components:

• Succinct review of biology and natural history;

• Clear definitions of major clades and synapomorphies (with accompanying photos or illustrations);

• A brief chronicle of major taxonomists over the past 265 years contributing to the current understanding of species diversity (who’s who in a particular taxonomic group);

• How the phylogenetic relationships have become clarified over the years with specific discussions on data and analyses;

• Discussion on taxonomic databases, if any;

• Areas of taxonomic impediments;

• Regions in need of biodiversity exploration and documentation;

• Challenges in advancing systematic research; and

• Future of taxon-specific systematics.

Papers should not exceed 15,000 words including references and figure legends.

How to Participate 

Please send Hojun Song ([email protected]) or Jason Bond ([email protected]) a white paper/proposal.

• 300-500 word justification
• Why your group of insects and why now?
• Potential author list

Authorship including ECR highly encouraged.

Annals of the ESA - Call for Review Articles

Annals of the Entomological Society of America is seeking proposals for review articles that synthesize current knowledge, present new insights, and challenge or expand our understanding of the chosen topic.

Proposals will be reviewed by the editor-in-chief and members of the editorial board. Authors whose proposals are accepted will be invited to submit a full paper, which will then undergo peer review. Papers will be published into an issue after acceptance and will be added to a virtual collection of invited review articles. Participating papers will receive a 60% discount on charges for a standard license.

The journal is interested in review articles on all topics spanning the breadth of entomology, except for topics that have thoroughly covered within the last 10 years and topics focusing on medical entomology and IPM, as those may be a better fit for other ESA journals.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE Please fill out the proposal form at this link: Annals of the ESA Review Proposal Form

The form will ask you to provide:

· Your name, email, and institution

· Names of likely coauthors

· Proposed title or topic for the review

· Why is your proposed review timely and important?

· The topic’s place in the last 10 years of publications

· An abbreviated bibliography

KEY DETAILS

· Proposals due: May 11, 2025

· Full articles due: December 2025 or earlier

Submit Your Proposal

For questions, please contact the ESA journals team at [email protected].

Environmental Entomology - Undergraduate Research Showcase

Environmental Entomology is pleased to share a dynamic special collection of articles focused on high-impact undergraduate research. 

Although this collection is already published, we will be adding new articles to this collection as they are published. 

How to Participate 

To have your research considered for inclusion in the collection, please contact the editorial office at [email protected] and include an abstract of your article for the editors to read. Articles may be smaller scale (e.g., one year of field data) but still must be scientifically sound and should be innovative.

Journal of Economic Entomology - The Sterile Insect Technique: Innovations, Challenges, and Future Directions

The Journal of Economic Entomology (JEE) invites you to submit a manuscript proposal for a special collection titled “The Sterile Insect Technique: Innovations, Challenges, and Future Directions”.  This special collection focuses on advances in the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), showcasing innovative research and technologies. Effectively sterilizing insects without compromising their performance demands constant research and optimization. Additionally, cost-effectiveness is essential to promote scalable methods for insect production, sterilization, and release. Although most SIT programs have traditionally used gamma radiation for sterilization, increasing regulatory restrictions, costs, and safety concerns, render this approach less attractive for SIT programs. This special collection focuses on alternative methods for sterilization such as E-beam, X-rays, incompatibility from bacterial infections, and gene editing, while addressing challenges in mass-rearing and release techniques. The collection aims to highlight emerging methods that make SIT more accessible and effective for integrated pest management across diverse agricultural, medical, and ecological settings.

Suggested Themes

X-ray and E-beam Sterilization: Research on using E-beams or X-rays as a safer alternative to gamma irradiation in SIT programs. Studies may include pest sterilization effectiveness, dose optimization, and applications across insect species.

Genetic Modification: Exploration of how CRISPR and other gene-editing technologies may be used to sterilize insect populations, offering radiation-free pest control solutions.

Bacterial Infection: Assessment of bacterial agents like Wolbachia induce incompatibility between infected and uninfected individual (Incompatible Insect Technique or IIT), an alternative to radiation or genetic modification in SIT.

Novel Combinations: Investigation of SIT combined with other methods (e.g. IIT) to enhance pest management effectiveness and scalability.

Mass rearing and release techniques: Research on nutrition and diet for mass reared insects, colony maintenance and breeding, sex separation, shipping, and release methods for SIT.

Economics of SIT programs: Studies focusing on economic sustainability and integration of SIT into IPM.

Submission Deadline: May 31, 2025

How to Participate 

We ask potential authors to contact one of the guest editors below and submit the working title, authors, and a brief description of the scope of the work for pre-approval.

Guest editors: 

Marion Le Gall: [email protected]

Nathan Moses- Gonzales: [email protected]

Desmond Conlong: [email protected]

Lawrence Malinga:  [email protected]

Daniel A. Hahn: [email protected]

Journal of Medical Entomology - Culicoides biting midges as vectors of veterinary and medical importance

The Journal of Insect Science seeks manuscript proposals for a special collection titled “Culicoides biting midges as vectors of veterinary and medical importance.” This collection will focus on the ecology of Culicoides biting midges worldwide, including the ecological interactions of midges with their environment, hosts, and pathogens. Culicoides ecology remains an important topic due to the economic and animal welfare impacts caused by Culicoides-borne transmission of veterinary pathogens. However, this topic is particularly relevant in light of the ongoing outbreak and range expansion of Oropouche virus, a Culicoides-borne human pathogen. This collection will serve as a vital resource for those looking to increase their knowledge on Culicoides ecology in response to both medical and veterinary threats.

Potential topics include:

Culicoides ecology

• Culicoides-borne disease epidemiology (with a focus on the role of the vector)
• Emerging Culicoides-borne pathogens
• Vector-pathogen interactions
• Advances in Culicoides control

How to Participate 

We ask potential authors to contact one of the guest editors below and submit the working title, authors, and a brief description of the scope of the work for pre-approval.

Guest Editors:

Bethany McGregor ([email protected])

Emily McDermott ([email protected])

Submission Deadline: August 1, 2025

Environmental Entomology - Plant Volatiles in Insect Pest Management and Sustainable Agriculture

The Journal of Environmental Entomology seeks manuscript proposals for a special collection titled “Plant Volatiles in Insect Pest Management and Sustainable Agriculture.”

Plants emit an incredible abundance and diversity of volatile organic compounds. These compounds play important roles in ecological interactions. Over many decades, chemical ecologists have identified hundreds of plant volatiles that attract or repel insect herbivores, pollinators, and natural enemies. However, much debate remains around how to apply this understanding to agricultural systems for the attraction of beneficial pollinators and natural enemies while simultaneously repelling insect pests. The goal of this special collection is to unite chemical ecologists who study insect behavioral responses to plant volatiles, synthesizing our understanding of which volatiles regulate behaviors across herbivores, pollinators, and natural enemies. This collection will highlight how plant volatiles can have multiple separate effects on different insects and inspire future studies that cross insect functional groups to develop a more wholistic understanding of plant volatiles and applications in agricultural systems.

Deadlines

Proposals due August 1, 2025

Full manuscripts due by August 15, 2025

How to Participate

We ask potential authors to contact one of the guest editors below and submit the working title, authors, and a brief description of the scope of the work for pre-approval. Once approved, prospective authors will receive a formal invitation to submit their manuscript through the journal’s submission and peer review system.

Guest Editor(s):

Morgan Thompson, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Maryland
[email protected]

Emily Russavage, PhD, Research Entomologist, USDA-ARS
[email protected]

Olivia Bernauer, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
[email protected]