The Assistant Editor works closely with the Editor to produce four quarterly editions of The Bulletin of the Entomological Society of Canada, in March, June, September, and December. Generally, the Assistant Editor’s work involves laying out each issue of the Bulletin using the edited material provided by the Editor. The time commitment can range from about 25 to >40 hours of work for each issue, depending on the amount and complexity of material.

Duties include formatting the annual cover for the Bulletin, using photos provided by the photo contest committee; formatting and preparing the edited material received from the Editor in Chief for publication; laying out the edited material from the Editor in Adobe InDesign desktop publishing software (provided), following instructions from the Editor; distributing the proof copy to contributors to proof their contributions, and making necessary corrections; arranging to have the corrected copy uploaded to the website; arranging to have an e-blast message sent to members of the Society to notify them that the Bulletin has been uploaded to the website; clipping articles from the Bulletin to distribute e-prints to contributors; clipping book reviews from the Bulletin to send to the Chair of the Publication Committee; and clipping In-Memory pieces from the Bulletin to send to the Webmaster for posting on the Obituaries page of the website.

The applicant should be familiar with and have access to a current version of Microsoft Word. Experience with Adobe InDesign is an asset, but training can be provided.

Interested parties should contact the Publications Committee Chair, Dezene Huber (huber at unbc.ca), or the Editor, Bernie Roitberg (roitberg at sfu.ca), for further discussion.

This blog post references the recently published ‘Three brothers in biology: bugs, birds, books, conservation, and politics’ – The Canadian Entomologist. 2025;157:e5. doi:10.4039/tce.2024.42 – by Robert (Rob), Sydney (Syd) and Richard (Dick) Cannings. Their article and this blog post are modified from the closing plenary address presented at Entomology 2022, the Joint Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America, the Entomological Society of Canada, and the Entomological Society of British Columbia, in Vancouver, BC, 16 November 2022. Chandra Moffat (Research Scientist, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada), then President of the Entomological Society of BC, introduced the speakers; her comments are reproduced, in part, here.

Dick, Syd, and Rob Cannings answering questions after their plenary presentation; Chandra Moffat moderating at podium. Entomology 2022, Vancouver, British Columbia, 16 November 2022. Photo: Entomological Society of America.

 

 

 

Introduction: Chandra Moffat

As a young biology student at the University of Victoria in the early 2000s, I began to hear the name Cannings mentioned casually here and there. I wasn’t sure who Cannings was, but as a student with a sizeable dose of imposter syndrome, I just nodded along, as he seemed like someone I should have known about already. As I started picking up field guides to help me catch up with my classmates, who all seemed to have more natural history knowledge than me, I learned Cannings was a birder… and then learned he was an entomologist… and also a naturalist! It took embarrassingly longer to realize there were THREE Cannings brothers who all had their hand in biology, natural history, and the writing of amazing local field guides. The way they were talked about carried such an air of significance, that when I finally met the first Cannings – I think Rob, at an Entomological Society of British Columbia meeting – I could barely get my name out. I wasn’t much cooler when I met Syd at a Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution meeting in Victoria as a recent PhD graduate, or when I finally met Dick somewhere in the Okanagan after I moved there – I think I pulled over while he was riding his bike and hollered out my window! Over the last decade and a half, I’ve met each of them a handful of times, and become a bit more comfortable in their presence. A recent highlight has been collaborating with Dick (not Rob!) on a scarab beetle project here in the Okanagan and volunteering on his last political campaign.

Given my early admiration and ongoing respect for the Cannings trio, one might imagine the importance I felt when, during the course of organizing the 2022 Joint Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America, Canada, and British Columbia, it was suggested that we not only invite Rob, Syd, and Dick to provide the closing plenary speech but that I, as current President of the Entomological Society of British Columbia, should moderate it.

In preparation for their introductions, I dug into the history of the Cannings family a little. The Cannings brothers grew up in the South Okanagan of British Columbia – where I now reside. I had heard that their father Steve had worked many years at the Agriculture Canada Research Station in Summerland, where I also now work. In fact, Steve Cannings was first a technician in Plant Pathology and then the Station’s Photographer and, if the timelines had been different, we would have been colleagues interacting regularly.  Knowing that Steve Cannings and his wife Jean, a Summerland local, and all four of their children had spent so much time on the same property where I conduct my own research program in entomology makes giving this introduction all the more special. The significance of standing on the stage in front of a meeting of more than 3000 attendees to introduce the Cannings brothers was a career highlight, and it is an absolute pleasure to again introduce, this time in print: Rob, Dick, and Syd Cannings, Three Brothers in Biology.

Robert (Rob), the eldest boy (sister Bette is two years his senior), earned a BSc (1970) and MSc (1973) in Zoology, specializing in entomology, at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver and, after working for many years, obtained his doctorate degree from the University of Guelph (2000). After his UBC degrees, he worked as a lecturer in the Zoology Department at UBC and then, briefly (1979), was Curator of the Spencer Entomological Museum. The next year, Rob moved to Vancouver Island (where many biologists hope to retire!) to take up the position of Curator of Entomology at the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria; following his retirement in 2013, he has been Curator Emeritus there. Rob has been active in many organisations, including the Scientific Committee of the Biological Survey of Canada (Terrestrial Arthropods), the Arthropod Subcommittee of COSEWIC (Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada), and the executives of the Societas Internationalis Odonatologicae and the Dragonfly Society of the Americas. Rob is the author or co-author of several books, including The Birds of the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia (1987), Introducing the Dragonflies of British Columbia and the Yukon (2002), and The Systematics of Lasiopogon (Diptera: Asilidae) (2002).  In 2009 he was given the Bruce Naylor Award from the Alliance of Natural History Museums of Canada for outstanding contributions to museum-based natural history studies in Canada. On his retirement from the RBCM he received the museum’s Lifetime Achievement Award and was made an Honorary Member of the Entomological Society of BC.

Sydney (Syd) and Richard (Dick) are twins almost six years junior to Rob. Syd has had a meandering and adventurous life. Like both his brothers, he began his career as a summer nature interpreter for BC Parks (where I also began my career!) and then received a BSc (1975) and MSc (1978) in Zoology at UBC. He also focused on entomological museum work as Curator at the Spencer Entomological Museum (UBC) (1980–1991). In this job, he spent much time studying the insects of Yukon and developed a strong attachment to this northern land. Later, he served as Program Zoologist for the BC Conservation Data Centre in Victoria (1991–2002), and finally settled as a Species at Risk Biologist for the Canadian Wildlife Service in Whitehorse, Yukon. In this role, Syd works on a variety of issues dealing with assessment, listing, and recovery of species at risk—everything from bumble bees to bears. Since 2012, he has been a representative for the Canadian Wildlife Service on COSEWIC. He is the author of a number of books (most of them with Richard), including British Columbia: A Natural History, The New B.C. Roadside Naturalist, and Geology of British Columbia: A Journey Through Time.

Richard (Dick), also following the biology track, completed his BSc in Zoology at UBC (1975) and ventured far afield to undertake a MSc in Biology (studying birds) from the Memorial University of Newfoundland (1977). The third curator in the family, Dick served as Curator of the Cowan Vertebrate Museum for 17 years in the Department of Zoology at UBC where, among other research subjects, he became an authority on owls. In 1995, he moved back to the Okanagan where he spent 20 years as a consulting biologist and writer. He worked with Birds Canada coordinating Canadian Christmas Bird Counts, the eBird program, the British Columbia Owl Survey, and the British Columbia Breeding Bird Atlas. Dick served on various boards and committees, including 8 years as co-chair for birds on COSEWIC, 11 years on the British Columbia Environmental Appeal Board, and 5 years on the British Columbia Forest Appeals Commission.  He was a founding director of the Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Alliance and also served as a national board member for the Nature Conservancy of Canada. Dick has written over a dozen books on birds and the natural history of British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest, including The Rockies: a Natural History, Birds of British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest, and An Enchantment of Birds. Like Syd, he has led many international nature tours. In 2015, Dick moved from biology to politics and, for the last eight years, has served as the New Democratic Party Member of Parliament in Ottawa for the electoral district of South Okanagan-West Kootenay.

Rob, Syd and Dick were made Honorary Fellows of Okanagan College in 2008 for their work in biology, public education, and nature conservation in British Columbia.

The three brothers: Dick, Rob, and Syd Cannings, Penticton, British Columbia, December 1997. Photo: Steve Cannings.

Rob, Dick, Syd, Bette, and Jean Cannings, South Okanagan, about 1958. Photo: Steve Cannings

Dick, Rob, and Syd Cannings, Vaseux Creek Canyon, British Columbia, about 1962. Photo: Steve Cannings.

Jean, Dick, Syd, and Rob Cannings, Manning Provincial Park, British Columbia, 1963. Photo: Steve Cannings.

Dear members,

Please visit the tribute video to Jeremy McNeil, produced by Walter S. Leal.

A transcription of the tribute follows:

Jeremy McNeil was born on November 20th, 1944 in Tunbridge, England. The following year his family moved to Newfoundland, Canada. Jeremy returned to England for high school and worked for two years as a hospital orderly and wine merchant in London. He returned to Canada for his undergraduate studies at the University of Western Ontario, receiving a BSC in Honours Zoology in 1969. He received a PhD in Entomology and Ecology from the North Carolina State University in 1972. Soon after, he accepted a tenure track position at Laval University where he rose academically to Associate Professor in 1977 and Full Professor in 1982. After three decades at Laval he left for a Humboldt fellowship at Hamburg University where he worked with the legendary chemical ecologist Wittko Francke. Upon returning to Canada he accepted a full professorship with the University of Western Ontario, his Alma Mater, where he remained until his passing on July 18th, 2024.

Jeremy was one of the pillars of the International Society of Chemical Ecology (ISCE). He regularly attended ISCE annual meetings. Ironically he passed on the day of the latest meeting in Prague, the only annual meeting he missed in recent years. Jeremy was elected fellow of the Entomological Society of Canada in 1987, the Royal Society of Canada in 1999 and the Entomological Society of America in 2015. He was made an honorary fellow of the Royal Entomological Society in 2019. He received the ISCE silver medal in 2004 and was elected a corresponding member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences in 2018. Jeremy was awarded the Fry Medal from the Canadian Society of Zoologists in 2008, the gold medal from the Entomological Society of Canada in 1987. He was made a distinguished University Professor in 2014, and received the Helmuth Award in 2020 from the University of Western Ontario, and outstanding alumnus in 2011 from NC State, among many other accolades. Jeremy was president of ISCE in 1994, the Entomological Society of Canada in 1989, the Entomological Society of Quebec in 1978 and the Entomological Society of Ontario in 2013. He served as the International Secretary of the Royal Society of Canada from 2010-2017 and then as its president, 2019-2022. He created and served as co-chair, 2016 2022, of the Inter-American Network of Academies of Science.

Jeremy is known as one of the most, if not the most, engaging speakers in chemical ecology circles. His lectures delivered while wearing entomology themed t-shirts were thought-provoking, entertaining and stimulating, to say the least. As I stated on Twitter on the day of his passing, Jeremy is irreplaceable he was one of a kind. May Berenbaum described him as “a leader in thought, word and deed”. Jeremy received many accolades for actively engaging in public awareness of science including the Award for Science Promotion from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada 2016.

“Teaching small children, you know, getting them interested in science showing why it’s exciting but also why it’s important to them, and as I as I said to you earlier, one of the things I think is extremely important with the younger children is to make sure they understand that this is, science isn’t gender biased. Anybody can do science if they have the ability to do it and it shouldn’t be a question of whether you’re a boy or a girl, and the sooner we get that in the schools and get people to understand is, I mean, you know I’m in most of the academies in the Americas for example when you look at the number of women versus men it’s very gender biased and it isn’t towards women, in part because one only gets there when one is quite old and in the old days there were fewer people, fewer women in science, because they were told, oh, no, that’s not for you, and we need to get rid of that. And we need to get the best minds.” – Jeremy McNeil

His behavioral and chemical ecology research advanced our understanding of chemical cues, semiochemicals, mediating plant insect and host parasitoid interactions as well as the reproductive strategies of insects that migrate in response to predictable or unpredictable habitat changes. His research papers have been cited more than 8,000 times and have an H-index of 53. Last year alone, he produced five peer-reviewed articles. His legacy will be carried on by more than 60 graduate students and post-doctoral scholars he supervised. He also inspired the next generation of chemical ecologists. The world was a better place with Jeremy on it.

– By Walter S. Leal

 

 

 

Twentieth Annual Photo Contest

The 20th Annual Photo Contest to select images for the 2025 cover of the Bulletin of the Entomological Society of Canada is now underway.

Contest rules:

Photos of insects and other arthropods in all stages, activities, and habitats are accepted. To represent the scope of entomological research, we also encourage photos of field plots, laboratory experiments, insect impacts, research activities, sampling equipment, etc. Photos should, however, have a clear entomological focus.

Digital images must be submitted in unbordered, high-quality JPG format, with the long side (width or height) a minimum of 1500 pixels.

Entrants may submit up to five photographs. A caption must be provided with each photo submitted; photos without captions will not be accepted. Captions should include the locality, description of activity, if the main subject is other than an insect (if appropriate), and any interesting or relevant information. Captions should be a maximum of 40 words.

The entrant must be a member in good standing of the Entomological Society of Canada. Photos must be taken by the entrant, and the entrant must own the copyright.

The copyright of the photo remains with the entrant, but royalty-free use must be granted to the ESC for inclusion on the cover of one volume (4 issues) of the Bulletin, and on the ESC website, and in various social media posts by the ESC (credited to the photographer, of course).

Rather than a judging committee, this year, the photo contest organizer will open voting to our members on a website. Photographers of the top three photos chosen will be awarded the following prizes: 1st: $200 gift certificate for Henry’s Camera. 2nd: $100 gift card for Henry’s Camera. 3rd: $50 gift card for Henry’s Camera.

Submission deadline is 15 September 2024. Submit photos at this URL: https://pollunit.com/en/polls/esc_sec_photos_2024

 

 

by Hugh V. Danks

This article explains the steps required to publish in scientific journals.

Summary tables and specific examples are included.

The main headings are shown below.

[download pdf (1.6MB)]

The Canadian Journal of Plant Science announces a call for papers for a new Collection: Bugs in the North: Insect-Crop Interactions in Continental Climate Agriculture, guest-edited by Dr. Tyler Wist (AAFC), Dr. Hector Carcamo (AAFC), Dr. Boyd Mori (University of Alberta), and Marie-Ève Gagnon (AAFC).

Please note the deadline for papers has been extended to January 15, 2025.

https://cdnsciencepub.com/topic/cjps-bugs

From the wheat midge to the lady beetle, insects interact with crops in ways that range from useful to destructive. The full extent of damage due to insect pests can be difficult to estimate beyond yield-related crop losses. Indirect damage often includes compromises to host plant health and biodiversity resilience. And as climate change reshapes agricultural management practices and insect populations and behaviour, farmers are faced with what is, literally and figuratively, a moving target—and can benefit from research that offers new insights into the ongoing work of managing insects.  

The Canadian Journal of Plant Science invites submissions on current research concerning the impacts of insects on field and horticultural crops in the continental climate region. Topics may include:

  • Insect pest damage and management
  • Insect diversity, migration, and invasive species
  • Climatic factors in entomology
  • Biological control
  • Insect toxicology
  • Advances in measurement or monitoring techniques
  • The role of AI in modeling to refine predictive tools
  • Agroecosystems and farming management systems

Please contact Morgan Tunzelmann, Journal Development Specialist for the Canadian Journal of Plant Science, with any questions: morgan.tunzelmann@cdnsciencepub.com.


The Biological Survey of Canada is hosting a student collection competition! If you made a collection of insects, plants, or other biological material for university credit this year, you could win up to $150! Photograph your work and enter before January 31st 2024!

Get more out of your collection than a letter grade, while contributing valuable biodiversity data to ongoing scientific efforts to discover, record, and describe biota of Canada! Details can be found on the BSC website.

Prizes

Each category will be assessed independently and prizes will be given to the top three in each.

  • 1st place in each category will be awarded $150 CAD, and 2 Biological Survey of Canada t-shirts
  • 2nd place in each category will be awarded $50 and a Biological Survey of Canada t-shirt
  • 3rd place in each category will be awarded $25 and a Biological Survey of Canada t-shir

Winners will have their collection featured in the Biological Survey’s Summer newsletter, and all participants will be featured on the Biological Survey of Canada website for the next year.

https://www.ippcathens2024.gr/

The Congress is hosted by the Hellenic Society of Phytiatry in Athens, Greece and is organized under the auspices of the International Association for the Plant Protection Sciences (IAPPS), and of the Agricultural University of Athens. 
 
A wide range of topics will be covered in a rich 4 days scientific program while well- known speakers from all over the world will present all the latest developments in Plant Protection and other relevant fields.

 

The Status of Insects RCN Annual Meeting will be held January 25-26, 2024. Anyone with an interest in the causes and consequences of insect decline, and solutions to mitigate insect biodiversity loss, is welcome to attend the meeting so please extend this invitation to colleagues, students, and other networks you are part of that may be interested in attending. We especially want to encourage graduate students and other early career researchers to get involved.

The goal for the meeting is to bring everyone together to see more of what all the RCN Working Groups are doing, have dedicated time to work on products and discuss ideas, and to network with other folks working on similar topics around the globe. Much of the meeting will be focused on Working Group activities, but there will also be plenary talks, poster sessions, and social events.

The meeting will be entirely virtual and will run continuously for roughly 48 hours straight so that no matter what time zone you are in, there will be meeting activities scheduled. Register to attend the meeting here so that we can set you up with access to the meeting platform.

Call for posters:

There will be three virtual poster sessions during the meeting. We especially encourage students, early career researchers, and people seeking international collaborators to expand current or planned projects to submit a poster. Posters do not have to be new – you are welcome to present a recent poster from a local, regional, or taxon-specific meeting since it will be new to many folks at this meeting.
For details on submitting a poster, please visit the RCN website.

For those making advance plans:

JAM 2024 will be held in Quebec City, 20-23 October 2024.
More information will follow in the new year.