YouTube Your Entomology Contest

Every year, the Entomological Society of America invites entomologists, insect enthusiasts, and both professional and amateur videographers to showcase the world of insect science and enter the annual YouTube Your Entomology Contest.

All videos entered are showcased on the ESA YouTube Channel, and videos are judged for their creativity, entomological accuracy, sound quality, video quality, and editing. Winning video teams earn cash prizes and are honored at the ESA Annual Meeting.

Call for Videos: CLOSED

The video submission period for the 2019 YouTube Your Entomology Contest closed July 8.

The 2019 YouTube Your Entomology Contest finalists were announced in September via the Entomology Today blog. First place, second place, and honorable mentions will be announced at Entomology 2019, November 17-20, in St. Louis, Missouri.

All entries to the 2019 contest can be viewed on the ESA YouTube Channel.

General Contest Rules

The entry period for the YouTube Your Entomology Contest opens circa April 1 each year.

All video entries are judged by a panel of ESA members, who will choose a winner, a runner-up, and up to three honorable mentions. Finalists are named in August, with winners announced at ESA's Annual Meeting in November every year. Each finalist entry receives a "Stinger" award and a cash prize: $500 for first place, $250 for runner-up, and $50 for honorable mention.

Videos are judged on the following criteria: creativity, entomological accuracy, sound quality, video quality, and editing.

YouTube Your Entomology Contest rules:

Maximum length of video is three minutes (3:00). Longer videos will be disqualified.
At least one producer of the video must be an ESA member.
Entries must be submitted to pubs@entsoc.org with the following information included:
- video title
- brief video description
- all producers' names
- link to view video on YouTube or to download raw video file
Videos must be submitted by the assigned deadline (typically circa July 1 each year).

Videos may be uploaded directly to YouTube via the entrant's own account. Or, entrants may send a video file via file-sharing service such as Dropbox or YouSendIt.

All file formats that are compatible with YouTube will be accepted.

All videos will be displayed on the ESA YouTube Channel.

For questions regarding the YouTube Your Entomology Contest, please contact Joe Rominiecki, ESA manager of communications, at jrominiecki@entsoc.org.

Committee Members

Judges on the ESA YouTube Your Entomology Committee are ESA members Marlin Rice (chair), Jeff Bradshaw, Laura Higgins, Erin Hodgson, Clinton Pilcher, and Carol Pilcher.

2018 Contest Results

The 2018 YouTube Your Entomology Contest winner, selected from among 26 entries, was "Death by Doodle: A Brief Natural History of the Antlion," by Adrian Smith, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.

Runner-Up:

"Mosquito Metamorphosis," by Cella Wright, Mary Garvin, and Claire Solomon, Oberlin College

Honorable Mentions:

"What Do Bluebirds Eat?" by Ashley Kennedy, University of Delaware; and Justin Bredlau and Jessica Bray, Virginia Commonwealth University
"'We Bite the People and Animals' by The Aedes Ladies," by Justine LaViolette, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
"Wasps to Human Surgery: Inspiration From Nature," by Jessika Raisor, Columbus College of Art and Design; and Huayan Chen and Luciana Musetti, Ohio State University

Past YouTube Your Entomology Contest Entrants

View past entrants to the ESA YouTube Your Entomology Contest:

Advice From Experts

In 2017, the Entomology Today blog spoke with three past contest winners to get their advice on creating compelling video to communicate entomology. Check out their tips and perspectives at the links below.