IUSSI News

News, September 2023

The Brazilian section has a new web page: https://www.iussisecbras.org.br/

News, July 2023

Newsletter from Secretary General, Mark Brown

Mark's first newsletter since being elected Secretary General last year can be foud here.

As well as updates on the Insects Sociaux editorial team, the latest details of the upcoming International and European congresses, and of the society-produced Encyclopedia of Social Insects (Edited by archivist, Chris Starr), Mark writes about an initiative proposed by James Nieh, to expand our support for Section Members around the world:

Putting EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) at the Heart of the IUSSI

Over the past few years, it has become increasingly obvious that scientific societies, like all other aspects of the global community, have a job to do in increasing equality, diversity, and inclusion. The IUSSI is not immune from this need, and it has been more than heartening seeing and being part of EDI developments at previous IUSSI International Congresses. Before going any further, I'd like to thank Chelsea Cook and the DEI Committee (aka 'JEDI') for all their work before and during the San Diego Congress, which played a major role in making this meeting more supportive, safe, and welcoming to all participants.

In my election speech in San Diego, I emphasised that I wanted to make significant progress in the IUSSI around EDI. Coming from a financially privileged (despite the best efforts of our politicians!), Western European country, I realise that it is much easier for me to attend national and international IUSSI meetings than it is for many of our colleagues. Consequently, I was delighted to hear James Nieh's suggestion of an IUSSI EDI Fund, specifically to enhance opportunities for our members who (i) are less privileged, (ii) come from minoritized communities, or (iii) from low and middle income countries (as defined by the world bank) to attend the International Congress of our Union, starting with Freiburg in
2026.

The challenge that we face is that there are limited funds from Insectes Sociaux (our journal is the only source of funds for the central IUSSI) for sponsoring student attendance. James's suggestion incorporates a range of potential additional funds - including targeted fundraising by IUSSI Sections, a GoFundMe (or similar) Campaign, and the reinstatement of International Dues in a manner that is sensitive to differences between Sections and Individuals. Any monies raised would be held by the central IUSSI and disbursed specifically to support Congress attendance by members belonging to the groups defined above. This would, of course, be done following our best practice, and involve the Financial Subcommittee, the IUSSI President, and Section Presidents.

I will be sending your Section Presidents a more detailed version of this proposal, for them to discuss with you. I hope, and believe, that our membership will support this groundbreaking proposal, and enable our colleagues from all around the world to attend our International Congresses. We, and our science, will be richer for it!

News, October 2022

Two new Associate Editors joining Insectes Sociaux – From Madeleine Beekman, Editor in Chief, Insectes Sociaux

I have been overwhelmed with interest to join Insectes Sociaux as Associate Editor, so I had to make some difficult decisions. Miriam and I decided that in addition to an AE with expertise in ants, we also wanted someone with expertise in ‘the other social critters’ so that hopefully we will see an increase in non-Hymenopteran and non-Isopteran submissions. It is therefore with great pleasure that I announce that Joël Meunier has joined us as the ‘other social critters’ AE and Christopher Pull brings his broad expertise in everything ants related to the table. Below they tell us a little bit about themselves.

Thank you to everyone who put their hand up to join our journal. I am sorry you didn’t make it this time, but there will always be a next time.

Hi everyone. My name is Joël Meunier. I am a CNRS researcher at the “Research Institute on Insect Biology” (IRBI) of the University of Tours, France. After a PhD on the evolution of social conflicts in Formica ants at the University of Lausanne (Switzerland), I started to study the evolution of social life in the "other social insects" - mainly in earwigs, a group of species I have been studying for more than 10 years. My research interests are quite broad and include, for example, the nature and early evolution of all forms of social life in arthropods, the evolution of conflict and cooperation, the role of micro-organisms (pathogens and microbiota) in the evolution of hosts’ social life, and the role of anthropogenic effects (climate change, pesticides ...) on the adaptation of social insects. I have been a member of the French-speaking section of IUSSI since 2005 and a member of its board for several years. Hence, I am very happy to continue to serve the IUSSI community by joining the editorial board of Insectes Sociaux, where I look forward to reading all the exciting research being produced on all forms of social insects.

I, Chris Pull, am a Lecturer in Animal Behaviour at the Department of Biology at Oxford University, where my small lab group is investing in how social animals (ants, of course!) work together to keep their societies free of disease. I have been studying social insects since my undergraduate in 2012, focussing on ants during my undergraduate, masters, and PhD. I have also worked with honeybees during a summer research job and more recently bumblebees during my postdoc. The IUSSI was the first scientific society I joined, and I can still remember the overwhelming amazement I felt during my first section meeting at Sussex in 2013, when I realised just how much social insect research was going on. Since then, I have attended many more IUSSI meetings, both locally and internationally, and currently serve as secretary for the NW EU Section. The society remains a constant source of inspiration, and I am excited to be taking on an editorial role at Insectes Sociaux where I can work with authors to publish their fascinating social insect research.

News, September 2022

Roundup of news from the XIX International congress in San Diego, California

The international meeting took place in San Diego, California from 3-7 July 2022. You can find the web site for the meeting here: http://burkclients.com/IUSSI/meetings/2022/site/

The 2022 Hamilton award

The fifth Hamilton Award was presented to Bert (Berthold K) Hölldobler at the XIX International Congress, in San Diego, USA in July 2022. The award consisted of an engraved ornament, and a monetary award of US$ 1000, which Bert donated to the North American section of the IUSSI, to be used for four $250 travel grants for young researchers. The award was collected by Jürgen Gadau on behalf of Bert, who could not attend the meeting, and Christina Kwapich read out an acceptance address written by Bert.

The 2022 West-Eberhard award

The inaugural West-Eberhard Award was presented to Patrick Kennedy from the North-West European section of the IUSSI, in recognition of his resaerch on kin-selection in wasps. Patrick gave a talk entitled "Life advice for wasps" summarizing some of his work and career. The award consisted of an engraved ornament, and a monetary award of US$ 750.

New officers

The following new officers were elected at the general assembly meeting:

• Secretary General: Mark Brown
• President: Judith Korb

Other officers that have agreed to continue in their posts are Chris Star (Archivist) and David Nash (Webmaster), although David will also take up the post of assistant archivist, with the aim of taking over Chhris' duties over the next few years, associated with the relocation of the archive to Copenhagen, Denmark, and its on-going digitialization. Chris's latest archivist's report can be downloaded here.

Many thanks to Madeleine Beekman for holding the Secretary General reins so effectively since 2014, and to Jennifer Fewell as the outgoing president, for arranging the San Diego meeting along with her very able team.

New editor-in-chief of Insectes Sociaux

After 4 years as editor-in-chief, Miriam Richards is stepping down, and will be succeeded by Madeleine Beekman.

Madeleine also writes:

I am in the process of taking over the reins from Miriam as Editor in Chief of Insectes Soc. I thought that now would also be the time to look around for social insects researchers interested in joining as Associate Editor. We are particularly looking for people with ant expertise, as many submissions are on ants. However, if there is someone who does not work on ants but is nevertheless interested in becoming an associate editor, then please do not hesitate to get into contact with me (madeleine.beekman@sydney.edu.au).

With best regards, Madeleine

Editor in Chief, Insectes Sociaux

Financial sub-committee

Mark Brown and Rachelle Adams stepped down from the committee, and have been succeeded by James Nieh and Simon Tierney. The remaining member of the sub-committee, Heike Feldhaar, remains in office.

The next international congress

The XX (20th) international congress of the union will be hosted by the Central European section, and will be held in Freiburg, Germany in summer 2026. Judith Korb will spearhead the organization of the meeting, and will hence become the new president of the society (see above).

News, February 2022

Secretary General's Newsletter

Madeleine Beekman's latest newsletter as Secretary General of the IUSSI (February 2022) is now available for download on the "about" page and here.

Previous newsletters (including some not flagged up on this news page) can be found on the "about" page.

Note, in particular, that several positions within the IUSSI are up for renewal or electiuon at the XIX IUSSI International Congress of the IUSSI in July 2022, including Scretary General and Editor-in-Chief of Insectes Sociaux, and a host for the 2026 congress (and the associated position of IUSSI president) is also being sort.

Updated website for the Australasian Section, November 2021

The new site is nested within the Molecular Ecology, Evolution, and Phylogenetics (MEEP) Lab in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at Sydney University - courtesy of the section treasurer Nathan Lo: https://meep.sydney.edu.au/iussi/

News of the African Section, October 2021

Dear colleagues,

Eusocial greetings to you. We are happy to announce that the long-awaited African Section of the IUSSI is about to be re-launched. Currently, we have social insect researchers from 10 African countries who are very enthusiastic to provide a strong African voice to the IUSSI.

The online inauguration symposium of our section will take place on November 25th (CAT 10:00 am – 6:30 pm) and we are looking forward to a lively symposium. Please find more information here: https://africaniussi.wordpress.com/

We are eagerly awaiting fruitful discussions and new collaborations with members of the other sections latest at the international IUSSI congress in San Diego! If you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact us through our africaniussi@up.ac.za email.

Many greetings on behalf of the African IUSSI,

Robin Crewe, Yusuf Abdullahi, Christian Pirk and Anja Buttstedt

News, December 2019

Secretary General's Newsletter

Madeleine Beekman's fifth newsletter as Secretary General of the IUSSI is now available for download on the "about" page and here.

Newsletters from the sections

The latest newsletters from several sections can be found here:

Andean-Caribbean Section

Australian Section

North-west European Section

26/12/2019

News, June 2019

Secretary General's Newsletter

Madeleine Beekman's fourth newsletter as Secretary General of the IUSSI is now available for download here.

New web address for French-speaking section

The new site for the French-speaking section is http://insectes-sociaux.org/

News, October 2018

The 2018 updated version of the IUSSI constitution is available here.

Roundup of news from the XVIII International congress in Guarujá, Brazil

Secretary-General's report

A PDF version of the secretary-general's report, given at the meeting, can be downloaded here.

The 2018 Hamilton award

The fourth Hamilton Award was presented to Jacobus (Koos) Boomsma at the XVIII International Congress, in Guarujá, Brazil in August 2018. The award consisted of an engraved glass ornament, and a monetary award of US$ 1000, which Koos donated to the IUSSI to suppport the digitization of the union's archive.

New officer

The following new officer was elected at the general assembly meeting:

• President: Jennifer Fewell

Other officers that have agreed to continue in their posts are Madaleine Beekman (Secretary-General), Chris Star (Archivist) and David Nash (Webmaster)

New editor-in-chief of Insectes Sociaux

After 4 years as editor-in-chief, Michael Breed is stepping down, and will be succeeded by Miriam Richards.

Financial sub-committee

Joan Herbers stepped down from the committee, and has been succeeded by Rachelle Adams. The other members of the sub-committee, Mark Brown and Heike Feldhaar, remain in office.

The next international congress

The XIX international congress of the union will be hosted by the North American section, and will be held in San Diego, California in summer 2022.

News, July 2018

A draft of a new version of the IUSSI constitution is available here for comment

News, March 2018

Grants to attend the 2018 International Congress in Guarujá, Brazil

The Financial Subcommittee of the International Committee has set aside $20,000 USD to assist PhD students and early-career researchers from countries without an IUSSI Section to attend the 2018 Congress in Guarujá, Brazil.

Applicants must present their work at the IUSSI2018 either as a poster, or a talk. Funds are only available to assist with registration and accommodation; no funds are available for travel.

Applicants will need to provide an up-to-date CV, an explanation for why they request funds from the IUSSI, abstract submitted to IUSSI2018, and evidence of acceptance of a poster or talk at IUSSI2018.

Applications should be emailed to the Secretary-General madeleine.beekman@sydney.edu.au

Application deadline: April 6, 2018

Those who are members of an IUSSI section should contact their own section for details of grants available.

News, February 2018

The Italian section of the IUSSI has a new web site: https://socialinsectitaly2.wixsite.com/aisasp

News, November 2017

Updated IUSSI Section contact details

The contact details of all sections in good standing have been updated, and are available here.

News, December 2016

Secretary General's Newsletter

Madeleine Beekman's fourth newsletter as Secretary General of the IUSSI is now available for download on the "about" page and here.

New web site for Australasian section

The Australasian section has a new (and more easily remembered) web address: http://www.iussiaustralasia.org

News, December 2015

Secretary General's Newsletter

Madeleine Beekman's third newsletter as Secretary General of the IUSSI is now available for download on the "about" page and here.

News, 25 September 2015

The former Bolivarian section agreed at its 10th biennial general meeting (BGM) on 9-11 September in Bogota to chage its name to the Andean-Caribbean Section, to more clearly represent its geographical coverage. This decision has been approved by the Secretary General and President of the IUSSI, and will be phased in over the next few months, including the establishment of a new, updated web site, and revival of the section newsletter "Tacaya".

The executive committee also elected the following officers:

President: Marilena Marconi, URKU, Peru; marilena.marconi@gmail.com
In line with a decision at the 2013 BGM, the Bolivarian IUSSI is not led by a president in the manner of other sections. Rather, she/he is the chairperson ex officio of the upcoming BGM, in the manner of the IUSSI president.

International Secretary: Christopher K. Starr, University of the West Indies, Trinidad & Tobago; ckstarr@gmail.com
This position was created about a decade ago in order to ensure that a small section, somewhat peripheral to the main powerhouse countries of science, has someone whose specific business it is to maintain linkages with the center and the other sections.

Membership secretary: Carlos E. Sarmiento, National University of Colombia; cesarmiento@unal.edu.co

Editor of Tacaya: Guiomar Nates-Parra, National University of Colombia; mgnatesp@gmail.com

News, September 2015

Secretary General's Newsletter

Madeleine Beekman's second newsletter as Secretary General of the IUSSI is now available for download on the "about" page and here.

New server for IUSSI international site

The international web site for the IUSSI was migrated to a new server on 13 May 2015 - which unfortunately meant that the site was unreachable for some time prioor to this date - Hopefully this will be the last disruption to the site for a while.

New web site for North American section

The web site for the North American section can now be found at: http://iussi.cyberbee.net/

News, December 2014

Secretary General's Newsletter

Madeleine Beekman's first newsletter as Secretary General of the IUSSI is now available for download on the "about" page and here.

Cairns program and abstract books

The program and abstract books from the XVII International congress in Cairns are now available on the meetings page.

Roundup of news from the XVII International congress in Cairns

The 2014 Hamilton award

The third Hamilton Award was presented to Mary Jane West-Eberhard at the XVII International Congress, in Cairns in July 2014. The award consisted of an engraved glass ornament in the shape of a book, and a monetary award of US$ 1000, which Mary Jane donated to the IUSSI.

New officers

The following new officers were elected at the general assembly meeting:

• Secretary General: Madeleine Beekman
• President: Klaus Hartfelder

Other officers that have agreed to continue in their posts are Chris Star (Archivist) and David Nash (Webmaster)

New editor-in-chief of Insectes Sociaux

After 24 years as editor-in-chief, Johan Billen is stepping down, and will be succeeded by Michael Breed, whio will take over in August.

Revitalization of Brazilian and Indian sections

Following several years where their status had lapsed, both the Brazilian and Indian sections are now once more in good standing, which was reflected by the many contributions from Brazilian and Indian reserachers at the Cairns meeting. Both sections now have a web presence that is reflected on the "sections" page.

The next international congress

The XVIII international congress of the union will be hosted by the newly revitalized Brazilian section, and is planned to take place in the beach resort of Guarujá in July or August 2018

Electronic Payment for North American section membership

The North American section is now accepting membership subscriptions using PayPal or major credit cards, which greatly eases the process of joining the IUSSI for those who have no local section. Below is an extract from the membership page of the section.

Membership is open to anyone with an interest in social insects. While the North American Section is principally intended to serve Canada, Mexico and the United States, we happily accept members from other countries. However, we do encourage interested individuals to explore whether there might be a section closer to them that could better serve their needs.

Membership is renewed annually at the start of each calendar year. Payments can be made online using Paypal or a credit card, or by check. Dues are currently $20 for full members, $10 for students, and $25 for household memberships. You may use your institutional address, and can change your contact information from previous years at the last page of your entry (‘edit’ button). There is also a button below for donations to the Section, which can be directed toward the General Fund, Nutting Termite Research Fund, or Eickwort Student Award Fund - use the edit button on the last page of the donation form to designate your desired fund. If the field is left blank, funds will be placed into the IUSSI general account.

Please see the membership page of the North American Section (iussi.cyberbee.net/member) for more details.

The IUSSI is now registered as a charity

After several years of planning, the IUSSI is now registered as a charity (non-profit organization) with the US Internal Revenue Service, based in the state of Ohio.

Please see the following PDF file: IRS IUSSI nonprofit letter

New Japanese Section web site

The Japanese section has a new web site, including English pages, which can be found at:

https://sites.google.com/site/iussijapan/english

IUSSI European meeting 2012 web site now live

Details of the congress can be found at: http://www.mdbenterprise.it/iussi/

New Chief Editors for Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 2 September 2011

After 17 years of dedicated and excellent service, Tatiana Czeschlik (Heidelberg, Germany) retired as Chief Editor of Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, the first journal devoted exclusively to the publication of original research in these now-preeminent disciplines in behavioral biology. Tatiana is succeeded by Theo C. M. Bakker (University of Bonn, Germany) and James F. A. Traniello (Boston University, USA). Theo Bakker specializes on the behavioral ecology of fishes and will handle manuscripts dealing with vertebrates, while James Traniello, who studies the behavioral ecology of social insects, will be responsible for submissions using invertebrate models.  Since its inception, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology has been a primary venue for the publication of social insect research. 

XVII IUSSI International Congress web site goes live, 21 July 2011

The web site for the next international congress is now live: See www.iussi2014.com

Next archive picture online, 21 July 2011

The next in the series of pictures from the archive is now on-line. The featured group of social insect researchers is the German-speaking section of the IUSSI, as photographed at Würzburg in 1951.

XVII IUSSI International Congress, 13-18 July, Cairns Australia

Come for the science, stay for the reef and rainforest.

The Australian Section will be hosting the next international congress of IUSSI. The President is Ben Oldroyd, and the organizing committee currently comprises Madeleine Beekman, Simon Robson and Judith Reinhard. The committee will be expanded closer to the event.

The Congress will be held in the magnificent Cairns Convention Centre, and there will be a brilliant selection of post conference tours, etc.

There will be discounts for student delegates, and students are strongly encouraged to participate and to present.

Please mark the dates in your calendar.

We have registered the domain name www.IUSSI2014.com. We'll go live as soon as we can.

Next archive picture online, 10 March 2011

The next in the series of pictures from the archive is now on-line. The featured social insect researcher is Rene Antoine Ferchault De Reaumur (1683-1757).

Next archive picture online, 6 December 2010

The next in the series of pictures from the archive is now on-line. The featured social insect researcher is Eva Crane (1912-2007).

New web address for the Italian section, 1 December 2010

The Italian section now has a new, and hopefully more permanent, web site at: http://www.aisasp.it/

New web address for French & Italian sections, 11 October 2010

The French speaking section can now be found at: http://uieis.univ-tours.fr/

The Italian section now has a new web site at: http://aisasp.altervista.org/blog/ (this has now been superceded - see above)

Site News, 30 August 2010

Following the XVI international meeting of the IUSSI in Copenhagen, Denmark, the design of the IUSSI International web site has been modified to allow easier updating and expansion. The site will probably be in a state of transition for several months, so please excuse any changes or small disruptions during this time.

IUSSI News, August 2010

At the XVI international meeting of the IUSSI in Copenhagen, Denmark, the following officers were elected to serve on the international committee of the IUSSI:

Secretary General: Joan Herbers
President: Ben Oldroyd
Treasurer of the Congress: Madeleine Beekman
Editor of Insectes Sociaux: Johan Billen
Associate editors of Insectes Sociaux: Yves Roisin, Miriam Richards

Other officers that agreed to continue their previous positions at the meeting were:

Archivist: Chris Starr
Webmaster: David Nash

During the Congress, the IUSSI adopted a new constitution, which can be viewed or downloaded as a PDF file here.

The minutes of the International Committee meeting can be found here.

The report of the Secretary General can be found here.

Hamilton Award 2010

The IUSSI honors a senior scientist at its quadrennial Congress with the Hamilton Award. The highest honor we bestow, the Hamilton Award recognizes lifetime achievement in the biology of social insects. We seek nominations of individuals whose scientific contributions are profound, and who have broadly influenced colleagues and students. A committee of IUSSI Section Presidents has chosen Charles D. Michener to receive the Hamilton Award 2010.

Professor Michener, who prefers to be called “Mich”, is the world authority on bees. He published his first paper in 1935 as a teenager, and in the ensuing 75 years his publications have included more than 400 papers, and highly influential books on bee social behavior and systematics. While his work has maintained a special focus on halictid bees, he has also made contributions to the biology of arthropods from moths to mites.

Mich has trained a legion of bee biologists during his long career at the University of Kansas; the list of his students and collaborators shows his strong influence on the development of social insect biology. He has inspired by example, and given his time generously to help his students do their best.

The award will be presented at the XVI International Congress of the IUSSI in Copenhagen in August 2010. Unfortunately Mich is unable to attend the Congress to collect the award in person, but there will be a plenary session to celebrate the award and his many achievements on Wednesday morning.

Northwest European Section News

At the Winter 2007 meeting of the British Section of the IUSSI it was decided that the name of the section will henceforth be the Northwest European Section, to more accurately reflect the section membership.

IUSSI News, August 2006

Secretary General: Joan Herbers
President: Koos Boomsma
Editor of Insectes Sociaux: Johan Billen
Associate editors of Insectes Sociaux: Penny Kukuk, Yves Roisin

Other officers that agreed to continue their previous positions at the meeting were:

Conservation officer: Donat Agosti
Archivist: Chris Starr
Webmaster: David Nash

The election of Koos Boomsma to the office of president is in association with the selection of Copenhagen as the site of the next international congress in summer 2010.

The first Hamilton Award was given at the same meeting, to Ross Crozier.

French Section News

Brazilian Section News

Seccion Bolivariana News

Italian Section News

Australian section news

German-speaking section news

IUSSI News, August 2002

Secretary General: Wolfgang Kirchner
President: Walter Tschinkel
Editor of Insectes Sociaux: Johan Billen
Associate editors of Insectes Sociaux: Penny Kukuk, Yves Roisin

Other officers that volunteered their services at the meeting were:

Conservation officer: Donat Agosti
Archivist: Chris Starr
Webmaster: David Nash

The election of Walter Tschinkel to the office of president is in association with the selection of Washington D.C. as the site of the next international congress in summer 2006.

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