Lanham, MD; August 23, 2012 -- ESA President Dr. Grayson C. Brown has just announced that the Entomological Society of America will host ICE 2016, the XXV International Congress of Entomology, September 25-30, 2016 in Orlando, Florida.

Lanham, MD; August 1, 2012 -- The ESA Governing Board has elected ten new Fellows of the Society for 2012. The election as a Fellow acknowledges outstanding contributions to entomology in one or more of the following: research, teaching, extension, or administration. The following Fellows will be recognized during Entomology 2012 -- ESA's 60th Annual Meeting -- which will be held November 11-14, 2012 in Knoxville, Tennessee:

Lanham, MD; July 2, 2012 -- A new species of phorid fly from Thailand is the smallest fly ever discovered. At just 0.40 millimeters in length, it is 15 times smaller than a house fly and five times smaller than a fruit fly.

The tiny fly, Euryplatea nanaknihali, is also the first of its genus to be discovered in Asia, and it belongs to a fly family (Phoridae) that is known for "decapitating" ants.

Lanham, MD; July 2, 2012 -- Brown widow spiders are relatively new to North America, where they were first documented in Florida in 1935, and even newer to southern California, where they were only recently discovered in 2003. However, in the last decade they have been so successful that they may be displacing native black widow spiders. If so, the overall danger to homeowners may decrease because brown widow spider bites are less toxic than those of native western black widow spiders.

Lanham, MD; June 3, 2012 -- Consumer products known as "bug bombs" or "foggers" have been sold for decades for use against many common household insects. However, recent research published in the Journal of Economic Entomology (JEE) shows these products to be ineffective against bed bugs.

Lanham, MD; June 3, 2012 -- Transgenic crops that produce insect-killing proteins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) have reduced reliance on insecticide sprays since 1996. Yet, just as insects become resistant to conventional insecticides, they also can evolve resistance to the Bt proteins in transgenic crops. Thus, to delay pest resistance, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has required farmers to plant "refuges" of crops that do not produce Bt proteins near Bt crops. But how much refuge acreage is enough?

Lanham, MD; May 9, 2012 -- A panel of ten insect pest-control experts convened in Annapolis, MD recently to review and improve the Associate Certified Entomologist (ACE) program, a certification program run by the Entomological Society of America Certification Corporation (ESACC) which seeks to raise the ever-increasing level of professionalism in the pest control industry by developing standards for applicators. Applicants for certification must meet minimum standards, be certified operators in at least one state, and pass an examination.

Lanham, MD; May 7, 2012 – The requirement for efficient mosquito mass-rearing technology has been one of the major obstacles preventing the large scale application of the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) against mosquitoes.

Lanham, MD; May 7, 2012 – More than 300 entomologists from the United States and Canada will attend the 67th Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America's North Central Branch in downtown Lincoln, Nebraska, June 3-6, 2012 at the Embassy Suites Hotel.

Lanham, MD; April 23, 2012 -- Periodic outbreaks of bark beetles can cause annual losses of millions of dollars and pose serious challenges for forest managers, and the suppression of outbreaks is particularly difficult and expensive.