The Entomology 2021 virtual conference is now underway, and the in-person event in Denver, Colorado, begins October 31. Check out the online program to see the full schedule of virtual and in-person sessions.

Entomology 2021, the Entomological Society of America’s Annual Meeting, opened on-demand virtual content last week, and conference participants have been busy diving in to the trove of on-demand symposia, presentations, posters, and infographics from all corners of insect science.

Entomology Today asked some of those participants to share their favorites from the conference so far, and their comments give a peek into the deep body of knowledge available among the 900-plus on-demand presentations and posters on the slate. See what they have to say below, and see more commentary on Twitter via the hashtag #EntSoc21.

Meanwhile, this Sunday begins the in-person Entomology 2021 event, running October 31 through November 3 in Denver, Colorado. Many of the in-person symposia and programs will be livestreamed for virtual attendees when they take place, and recordings of all livestreamed programs will be available within a few days afterward for on-demand viewing.

If you haven’t already, you can still register for Entomology 2021 and get in on the action, either in-person or virtually. And on-demand content will be available to view through January 31, 2022.

The pitfalls of ovitrapping in San Gabriel Valley, California
“Visually this poster stood out to me due to the small cartoons of the isopod and insects. I really admire the setup of this experiment in discovering potential predators of Aedes mosquito eggs. Furthermore, the biodiversity of the valley is in full display with the pie chart. The results provide possible improvements in trapping that can be made, as well as an idea of how common some species are over others. Overall, a very simple and clear poster with cute graphics.” —Tiffany C. Chang

Small pest, big problem: innovative strategies to manage hemp russet mite in hemp
“This poster presented by Christopher Hayes provides good hope for expanding our solutions for this devastating pest! Working in indoor production of medical cannabis, I love to see new methods to incorporate into IPM programs that do not involve pesticides, as our options on that front are very limited.” —Ryan Gott, Ph.D.

Interactive effects of diet quality, pesticide exposure, and virus infection in honey bees
“Edward Hsieh’s talk is a very interesting presentation on how diet can impact honey bee survivorship when exposed to pesticides and viral infection. Given the high visibility of honey bees and pesticides in the media, Hsieh’s findings are not necessarily what many would expect. Check it out! —Liz Dykstra, Ph.D., BCE

I really liked this talk by Zach Lahey on the phylogenomics of Platygastroidea, w/ detailed explanation, rigorous filtering & likelihood mapping to explore difficult nodes. Also if you didn't know, Scelionidae is back along with 3 new families! https://t.co/N6YTwp1dmO #EntSoc21

— Miles Zhang 张远濛 (@ymilesz) October 26, 2021

My experience in an HBCU and reflections on the diversity and inclusion in the entomology community
“I find it very interesting that Dr. Hongmei Li-Byarlay is the first professor to bring entomological  focused course content to this college. The agricultural research to help many who do not have access to entomological knowledge and resources is something I also admire. I often forget that honey bees, especially those not bred commercially, can continue to evolve and diversify. I find it really interesting that the majority of student awards and nominations are female instead of male. I also personally do enjoy the annual Black in Ento showcase as well!” —Tiffany C. Chang

Phylogenetic relationships of the Euchromiine tiger moths
“I watched this presentation by Melissa Sisson, which focused on the systematics of the charismatic Euchromiine tiger moths. The wing scales and patterns in tiger month wings vary among clades, and Melissa looked at convergent and divergent evolution in wing scales and spots; these were evaluated against a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of euchromiines. The slides in this talk are beautiful! It turns out that three of the genera studied here are polyphyletic!” —Jessica Ware, Ph.D.

#Entsoc21 virtual talks are up and running!@BoudAnt1 's presentation was a wild ride! I absolutely recommend it!

Head anatomy and evolution of the sausagefly and the driver ant (Formicidae: Dorylinae) https://t.co/syZV8T1nLa #EntSoc21

— Thomas Chouvenc / Termite lab (@ChouvencL) October 21, 2021

The structure of mosquito bite blocking textiles
“I find this presentation by John B. Holt, part of the “Multisystem and Novel Approaches to Insect Pest Management” symposium, very interesting because of its intersection of vector management and engineering design. It is quite surprising that the nature of the clothing we wear can determine whether we would get bitten by mosquitoes or not; wearing long sleeves may not even protect one from mosquito bites. The biggest highlight from this presentation is the successful design recommendations of comfortable and bite blocking textiles.” —Oluwaseun M. Ajayi

The aquatic-terrestrial ecology of a tropical temporary pond
“This presentation by Gavin R. Campbell provides a deep dive (no pun intended) into temporal changes in insect communities within temporary ponds. This is a ubiquitous habitat type and its complexity is under-appreciated. The changing spatial relationships through time are fascinating! This presentation touches on a number of different themes, so it will interest attendees from many disciplines within entomology.” —Sandra R. Schachat

Unprecedented Times! Administrative Challenges associated with continued growth of an entomology program
“This presentation by Dr. Phil Mulder was an interesting review on the departmental impacts of the pandemic. Mulder provides insight into the often-complicated challenges in keeping track of courses and how, for his institution, it may have snowballed into missing essential faculty. There is also the gaping problem of how most institutions were unprepared to handle the mental health and technological challenges brought on by the pandemic, as well. It was a very eye-opening presentation, and I really hope systems will be able to commit to radical changes to accommodate the diverse needs of students and faculty.” —Tiffany C. Chang

Reviewing the #EntSoc21 offerings with @FutureDrMiller and @LoloGoldstein, who will be flying the flag for @IsaacsLab in Denver. There's already so much cool bug science loaded up at the website. pic.twitter.com/7tiRIWy1Dy

— Rufus Isaacs (@msuberrybugs) October 20, 2021