Wednesday, May 29, 2013

A unique opportunity for Texas IPM professionals

In case you haven't already heard, Texas gets to play host to a major event in the world of entomology and pest control this year.  The annual conference of the Entomological Society of America will be held November 10-13 in Austin.  The theme of this year's meeting is Science Impacting a Connected World, and approximately 3,000 entomologists from all over the world are expected to attend.

Many of you might be asking, "What's in it for me?"  In my opinion, plenty. The ESA meeting draws urban entomologists from all over the country to hear the latest in structural pest control research and activities. For a taste of the kind of information that you can hear at ESA, check out my past posts on ESA meeting highlights. In recent years ESA has become very welcoming to the pest control industry, even to the point of sponsoring special sessions for ACEs and other PMPs.

Rates for attending the meeting include early bird and on-site  registrations.  If you register before September 23,  ACEs can register for for $455 (comparable to the member rate of $430). Others pay $635 for early-bird and $765 for late registration. The meeting will be held at the Austin Convention Center.

This year the Texas IPM Affiliates for Public Schools (TIPMAPS) will be holding their annual meeting jointly with ESA. The TIPMAPS group is Texas' professional association for Public School IPM Coordinators.  They and Texas A&M University will be sponsoring a day-long program called Under the Lens, a CEU granting educational program and annual meeting featuring entomologists speaking on various topics including delusions of parasitosis, mosquitoes, pyrethroid label changes and fire ants, bed bugs, and rodent management around schools.  Advanced registration for the day is $100 (includes lunch) and $125 for on site registration. Although the program is designed for school IPM professionals, PMPs should also find the presentations and speakers of great interest. Registrants for the program will get access to the meeting exhibits and limited access to some of the scientific paper sessions. If you are interested in registering, or just want to learn more, click here.

Besides the TIPMAP event, a few of the symposia and paper sessions at the ESA meeting that might be of special interest to PMPs include:
  • Applied Research on Bed Bug Management
  • Arthropod Associated Allergy 
  • Healthy Schools: Research, Benefits and Impacts in the Classroom 
  • The Impact of Repellent Research and Development of New Arthropod Repellents 
  • Chagas Disease in the USA? A New Risk?  
  • Transmitting Mosquito Information: From Laboratory to Surveillance and Management in the Field 
  • How Cool is Entomology? 
  • Red Imported Fire Ants: Global Approaches to a Global Invasive Species 
  • Stored Product Entomology: Impacts on a Connected World 
  • Urban Entomology Presented Papers
  • Medical/Veterinary Presented Papers
  • Informal Conference on Insects of Ornamentals
  • Click here for a full listing of special symposia topics
Though some of the papers are highly technical, most of the urban entomology sessions should be accessible to anyone with a basic knowledge of entomology and an interest to see the latest science behind the craft. I hope many of you will consider attending. 

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