Welcome to ENTOMOLOGY 2013, the 61st Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America. We are glad you will join us in Austin, TX because we have worked hard to provide you with a diverse and interesting 4-day program. This year will feature 107 symposia and an additional 1800 papers and posters. To stay true to the local atmosphere there will be many different ways to interact with other attendees; to get feedback on your research and to make new friends.

President Wiedenmann’s theme for the meeting is “Science Impacting a Connected World”. During his presidency it has been his goal to continue to increase the impact of the science and ESA through public policy, to develop new leaders for ESA, and to strengthen connections and develop new partnerships within the membership and from around the world. The theme fits our society so well. Our membership comes from all over the world. (In fact, we, ourselves were born and raised in the Netherlands and El Salvador, respectively, and now make the United States our home.) Many of ESA’s members collaborate with scientists, agencies and communities from all over the world.  Through our science we have all formed entomological science connections that impact human societies locally and globally.  And now it has again become time to share our science, and our impact, at the premier Entomological meeting in the world.

The 2013 Program Committee Co-Chairs solicited the general ESA membership for Program Symposia proposals that best exemplified the Annual Meeting’s theme. The Program Committee received 38 proposals for Program Symposia. We took extra care to reflect ESA diversity in the topics, organizers and speakers. The following six Program Symposia were selected for Entomology 2013:
•    Broadening Our Public Impact: Novel Ways to Connect the Entomological Community with an Evolving World. This program symposium is organized by graduate students Christina A. Silliman, Catherine Dana, Brendan Morris and Julie Allen, who are blogging about their experience at http://broadenyourimpact.org/ and under @broadenimpact on Twitter. We encourage you to participate in the discussion before, during and after the Annual Meeting.
•    Connecting with the World’s Best Talent:  Attracting and Retaining Diverse Entomologists. Organizers: Michelle S. Smith and Bill Hendrix
•    Environmental Determinants and Ecological Consequences of Invasions by Arthropod Disease Vectors. Organizer: Brian F. Allan
•    How New Technologies and Interdisciplinary Approaches are Transforming our Understanding of Complex Biological Interactions. Organizer: Fiona L. Goggin
•    Impacts of Global Change on Biodiversity and Biological Control. Organizers: David Crowder and James D. Harwood
•    Plant-Mediated Interactions among Multiple Players: Making Connections between Ecological Processes and Mechanisms. Organizers: Roxina Soler, Raul F. Medina and Cesar Rodriguez-Saona

Per request of the Section Leadership we increased the number of Section Symposia accepted (47), in addition to the now traditional 4 Section networking meetings. Another 54 Member Symposia were accepted. The Member Symposia fill in an additional level of diversity of topics and member interests. In total there will be a total of 1001 symposium presentations. In addition, we are happy that we can also accommodate ten-minute paper presentations (610+) and posters (550+). It was a difficult task to evaluate and accept this many wonderful symposia, but at the same time it was a very rewarding job. We thank the members who obviously put a lot of thought into organizing interesting symposia.

In order to increase interactions at the poster sessions we would like to invite you to the first-ever “Social Hour with Poster Presenters” in the poster area. Poster presenters are encouraged to attend their posters during assigned times (Sunday early evening, Tuesday early evening and Wednesday around noon), and for those interested in speaking with the researchers to visit the poster at that time. For further details please refer to the “Social Hour with Poster Presenters” section later on in this program book.

We are so glad that our student members are again organizing various Program, Section and Member Symposia. And on Monday the students are again the special focus of the meeting. They will be presenting 409 ten-minute papers and 201 posters as part of the competition for the President’s Prize.

During the meeting students will be competing in the Student Debates. Timely debate topics include: 1. What is the best individual solution to preserving the world's current biodiversity? 2. Using citizen scientists to collect data in scientific experiments, and 3. Using GMOs to increase food-security in regions where the technology is not universally accepted. The student debates will be held on Tuesday afternoon.

Ten University teams will also be competing in the 30th Anniversary of the Linnaean Games at the National Meeting. The preliminary round of the Games will be held Sunday. Come watch the excitement of such a great competition, and maybe learn something too.

To reward the students for their hard work and their importance to our Society the ESA office, with our guidance, is planning an exciting off-site reception in Downtown Austin. We hope that all students (both undergraduate and graduates) will be able to attend and make new friendships and celebrate their scientific accomplishments. Just remember, don’t do anything that we would not have done as graduate students. Be safe. Details about the reception location will be communicated through social media, or just ask us in person at the meeting.

We are glad that this year we will again be offering the important Continuum for Research Integrity to Research Misconduct (led by Dr. Ernest Delfosse, Michigan State University). This RCR training, to be held on Sunday morning, is required for all post-doctoral researchers, graduates students, technicians, and undergraduate student who are supported by an NSF grant.

This past year as Program Co-chairs has been a great experience. We are fully aware that our job of promoting the meeting is made much easier because of the reputation of Austin as a great conference destination. Who does not look forward to mixing top-notch entomological science with rock, blues, jazz, hip hop, punk or Latino shows in the live-music capital of the world, as well as with great dining opportunities. Come see us at the meeting if you want our advice on where to experience music or where to eat. And make sure to share your great finds with us.  Of course, we all need to get out of the city once in a while. We hope you will find the opportunity to visit some of the natural areas around Austin and beyond. To help you explore the area ESA offers you 3 off-site tours: 1. The macrophotography workshop at a University of Texas Field Station. 2. Tour of the Brackenridge Field Laboratory and 3. Tour of the Westcave Preserve.

We would never have been able to put together this exciting program without the help of our wonderful ESA staff and the Annual Meeting Program Committee.  Without the help of these great people, and the many other volunteer members that serve on the various committees that are responsible for a large, or even a just a small, part the Annual Meeting would not be as informative, diverse, enjoyable and connected. Thank you all. We wish you all a very successful Annual Meeting.

See you in Austin.

Marianne Alleyne and Luis Cañas
2013 ESA Program Committee Co-Chairs.