The subjects of top stories on Entomology Today in 2018 included two emerging invasive species—the spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula, top left) and the Asian longhorned tick (Haemaphysalis longicornis, bottom left)—research on the efficacy, or lack thereof, of boric acid in managing bed bugs (Cimex lectularius, top right), and new suggestions for beekeepers to boost the production of propolis in their honey bee hives (Apis mellifera, bottom right) hives. (Photo credits: lanternfly: Lawrence Barringer, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Bugwood.org; bed bug: Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org; ticks: James L. Occi, Rutgers University; propolis: Flickr/Ontario Beekeepers’ Association Tech Transfer Program, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Another year is in the books here at Entomology Today. To cap off 2018, let’s take a look back at what got the most buzz this year, both here on the blog and on ESA’s social media channels. And, new this year, we’ll list the top five research articles in ESA’s family of journals based on their Altmetrics scores.

After some time off for the holidays, we’ll be back in action beginning January 7. As always, thanks for reading. See you in 2019!

2018’s Top Viewed Entomology Today Posts

(Among posts published in 2018)

Spotted Lanternfly: States Urge Citizens to Report Sightings of Invasive Insect Hitchhiker

February 26, 2018
(This post also topped the list for most comments and most social shares in 2018.)

Insect Identification: Experts and Guides to ID That Bug You Found

July 3, 2018

Boric Acid Kills Bed Bugs, But Only When They Eat It

October 10, 2018

Native to Asia, Found in New Jersey: The Curious Case of an Invasive Tick

February 21, 2018

Propolis Power-Up: How Beekeepers Can Encourage Resin Deposits for Better Hive Health

November 28, 2018

2018’s Top Evergreen Entomology Today Posts

(Most views in 2018 for posts published in a previous year)

Mosquito Hawk? Skeeter Eater? Giant Mosquito? No, No, and No

August 17, 2015

How to Keep Honey Bees from Nesting in your Home

May 28, 2014

How to Survive a Massive Mayfly Swarm

June 1, 2015

2018’s Top ESA Social Media Posts

(Most impressions for an @EntsocAmerica tweet and ESA Facebook Page post in 2018)

Using an X-ray machine powered by a particle accelerator, researchers find ancient parasitic wasps contained within fossilized fly pupae, dating back to between 66 million and 23 million years ago—"the first definitive proof of endoparasitism among wasps." https://t.co/0ivKHINvP8

— Entomological Society of America (@EntsocAmerica) August 28, 2018

2018’s Top ESA Journal Article Altmetric Scores

(Highest scores on Altmetrics as of December 19, 2018, for articles published in 2018 in the ESA family of journals)

	Contact Irritancy and Toxicity of Permethrin-Treated Clothing for Ixodes scapularis, Amblyomma americanum, and Dermacentor variabilis Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) May 24, 2018, Journal of Medical Entomology
	Discovery of Haemaphysalis longicornis (Ixodida: Ixodidae) Parasitizing a Sheep in New Jersey, United States February 19, 2018, Journal of Medical Entomology
	Amblyomma americanum (Acari: Ixodidae) Ticks Are Not Vectors of the Lyme Disease Agent, Borrelia burgdorferi (Spirocheatales: Spirochaetaceae): A Review of the Evidence January 31, 2018, Journal of Medical Entomology
	Pollination on the Dark Side: Acoustic Monitoring Reveals Impacts of a Total Solar Eclipse on Flight Behavior and Activity Schedule of Foraging Bees October 10, 2018, Annals of the Entomological Society of America
	Lack of Evidence for Transovarial Transmission of the Lyme Disease Spirochete Borrelia mayonii by Infected Female Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) Ticks January 20, 2018, Journal of Medical Entomology