Conferences – Entomological Society of New Zealand

Draft Programme

Haere Mai – Welcome

The organising committee are please to welcome you to Ōtautahi Christchurch at the Town Hall from Wednesday 28th August – Friday 30th August 2024. The last time this conference was held in the greater Christchurch area was in 2010 at Lincoln University, after the Sept 4th earthquake. We hope that you can make it to see the emergence of the city from its chrysalis post earthquakes into the colourful and vibrant place it is, and enjoy all it has to offer.

Sponsors

Financial sponsors

Silver Sponsors – AgResearch and Canterbury Museum

Bronze Sponsors – Environment Canterbury, Plant & Food Research and University of Canterbury

Poetry Night Sponsor – Royal Society of New Zealand Canterbury Branch

Prize sponsors – Christchurch City Council, University of Canterbury Bookshop, Scorpio Books

The following organisations are recognised for the in-kind time contribution towards the conference organising committee: Canterbury Museum, University of Canterbury, Lincoln University, AgResearch, Plant and Food, Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, Wildlands.

Registration

The conference dinner has reached capacity and so any late registrants will not be able to attend the dinner. The registration price has been reduced accordingly.

Conference registration includes: lunch (each day), morning and afternoon teas, and the conference dinner. Additional conference dinner tickets can be purchased during registration for $70 (if you wish to bring a guest). There is a 100 person limit for the conference dinner venue so extra tickets will be on a first in, first served basis. Please note that all presenters must attend in person (i.e. there will be no remote presentations via Zoom/Teams, but a remote attendance option to watch the talks will be available).

Early-bird registration (closes 31st July 2024)

Full ($420)
Student/unwaged ($320)

Late registration (1st August 2024 – 12th August 2024)

Full ($470)
Student/unwaged ($370)

Flat registration

Single day ($300)
Online / virtual ($40 for all days of the conference)

Schedule overview

Presentation Instructions

Oral presentations

Full talks are 15 minute slots (12 mins + 2 min question time + 1 min transition)

Speed talks are 5 minute slots (3 mins + 1 min question time + 1 min transition)

Short talks are good for presenting a key idea, result and its meaning/implication. Three slides should be sufficient to allow you to get your point across during this style of presentation, but it is at your own discretion to decide how many slides you want to use. Keep in mind that session chairs will be very strict about the time limit.

Posters

Posters should preferably be printed A0 or A1 in size, and mounted on the poster boards on the first morning of the conference. The poster session will be held during an extended lunch session on the second day (Thursday 29th) of the conference.

Poetry Night 28th August

The conference organising committee is very excited to welcome you to an entomologically themed poetry night!

Step into the enchanting world of the six-legged at our Insect Poetry Night! Join us to celebrate the lyrical talents of our insect poet laureate, Robert Hoare, followed by verses from Gail Ingram and Robinne Weiss. Compose your own insect poem to share and dress to impress. From butterfly ballads to beetle beats, every insect has a tale to tell. Let your imagination take flight as we delve into the world of arthropod artistry. Grab your wings and join us for an evening of buzzing poetry!

This event will be open to the public and there is a capacity of 90. Please book your tickets here (the direct link to the event page is not working, so navigate to it from the Little Andromeda homepage).

Conference Dinner 29th August

The conference dinner will be held at Distinction Hotel, and the price is included in registration ticket. Please include dietary requirements when registering for conference. Extra dinner tickets can also be purchased at registration.

Red zone Inverteblitz 30th August

Join scientists and bug hunters from the Entomological Society of New Zealand to explore the Avon Ōtākaro forest park and uncover the critters who live there. Teams of experts will be heading out before the sun sets, and after sundown lights will come out to attract any night flying creatures. Any cool finds will be uploaded to iNaturalist. Our macro photographer will help you capture stunning photos of the bugs we encounter, just bring any equipment you have (even a phone with a clip-on lens!). Bring sturdy shoes, warm jackets and a headtorch if you have one. This weather will be cancelled if the weather is unsuitable.
Sausage sizzle and hot soup will be on offer. Meet at the sensory playground at 4:30 pm, 30th August 2024. Please register your interest here for catering purposes.

Key Dates

29th April 2024: Registration and abstract submission opens
26th June 2024: Deadline for KJ Fox Travel Awards
31st July 2024: Abstract submission closes
31st July 2024: Early bird registration closes
12th August 2024: Registration closes
28th August 2024: Conference begins
28th August 2024: Poetry night
30th August 2024: Conference close (early afternoon)
30th August 2024: Red Zone Inverteblitz event (late afternoon into evening)

Confirmed plenaries

Nicola Toki

Nicola Toki is Forest & Bird’s Chief Executive. Immediately prior to joining Forest & Bird in 2022 she held a senior leadership position in the Department of Conservation. Nicola has held leadership roles across public, private and non-profit organisations. Nicola studied at the University of Otago where she studied zoology and law, as well as a postgraduate diploma in natural history film-making.

Nicola is well-known for her high-profile and proactive public engagement on conversation matters. She is passionate about connecting people to the natural environment through story-telling in national and international media. She helps present the weekly radio show Critter of the Week with Jesse Mulligan on Radio New Zealand and most recently is a co-host of the television series Endangered Species Aotearoa, which has begun filming for its second season.

Dr Andrew Barnes

Andrew Barnes is a Senior Lecturer in community ecology at the University of Waikato where he leads the EcoDiv research group. He is broadly interested in the impacts of global environmental change drivers on above and below-ground invertebrate communities (with the occasional foray into plant, vertebrate, and microbial ecology). Andrew’s early research investigated land-use impacts on the structure and functioning of dung beetle and litter invertebrate communities in Indonesian and Afromontane forest landscapes.

Since then, he has broadened his focus toward understanding the complex relationships between biodiversity, food web structure, and ecosystem functioning through the lens of ecosystem energetics. More recently, Andrew’s work has been aimed at illuminating the poorly understood realm of soil invertebrate food webs by examining the dynamics of energy flux, ecosystem functioning and stability in response to the degradation and restoration of ecosystems.

Dr Robert Hoare (poetry night plenary)

Robert Hoare was born in the south of England several years ago, and grew up on a diet of Homer, Virgil, Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll. It was thus inevitable he would move to New Zealand and become an entomologist, and he has been known to name a few moths. But under his cool Ruapehu-like exterior the poetic lava still bubbles and occasionally he erupts into a dangerous volley of rhyming iambic tetrameters or anapaests. This is a great time to run to the nearest lake, sit partially submerged under a concrete hat and listen quietly.

Prospective Symposia / Session Topics

Taxonomy
Biosecurity
Ecology
Conservation
Collections and Collections Care
Physiology & Behaviour
Genes & Genomes
Outreach
Global Change
Bug of the Year

KJ Fox Awards

The KJ Fox Award is open to current members to provide financial assistance to attend the annual conference. Applications must be received by the secretary by 26th June 2024. Successful applicants will be notified in advance of the conference. More information on the awards, including the application form, can be found here.

Information about other society awards such as the Forster Award and the 21st Century Award can be found here.

Accommodation

Get in early to book accommodation! A range of hotels have offered deals on rooms, check these out below. There are a couple of events happening at a similar time to the conference.

Hotels in City Centre

Distinction

Location: Distinction Christchurch Hotel
~650m from conference venue
Website: http://www.distinctionhotelschristchurch.co.nz/ESNZ2024
Rate code: See above website landing page
Rate valid: 26th August 2024 – 30th August 2024
Offer: $210 Classic King, $235 Classic Twin, $235 Classic Super King

Ibis

Location: ibis Christchurch
~800m from conference venue
Website: https://accorevents.com/offers/72/entomological
Rate code: See above website landing page
Rate valid: 26th August 2024 – 30th August 2024
Offer: Discount of 12% off

Novotel
Location: Novotel Christchurch Cathedral Square
~550m from conference venue
Website: https://accorevents.com/offers/72/entomological
Rate code: See above website landing page
Rate valid: 26th August 2024 – 30th August 2024
Offer: Discount of 12% off

Quest on Cambridge
Location: Quest on Cambridge
~1000m-1100m from conference venue
Website: https://www.questapartments.co.nz/properties/south-island/christchurch/
Rate code: NZESCONF24
Rate valid: 19th August 2024 – 30st August 2024 (travel dates: 26 Aug – 30 Aug)
Offer: Discount – 10% off studio and one bedroom apt – when booking via the website (above) and App

Fino
Location: Fino Hotel and Suites
~100m from conference venue
Website: www.fino.nz
Rate code: FINZES24 (Online only and include 10% discount)
Rate valid: 25th August 2024 – 31st August 2024
Offer: Standard One Bedroom / Standard Two Bedroom / Superior One Bedroom / Superior Two Bedroom. Cancellation – 48 hours before arrival. Once logged in to the website type the code under PROMO CODE.

Crowne Plaza

Location: 764 Colombo Street, Christchurch
~350m from conference venue
Website: https://christchurch.crowneplaza.com/
Rate code: FINZES24 (Online only and include 10% discount)
Rate valid: 25th August 2024 – 31st August 2024
Offer: https://www.crowneplaza.com/redirect?path=hd&brandCode=CP&localeCode=en&regionCode=925&hotelCode=CHCCS&_PMID=99801505&GPC=NES&cn=no&viewfullsite=true.

Wyndham Garden

Address: 64 Kilmore Street, Christchurch
-250m from conference venue
Website: www.marsdenhotels.co.nz
Offer: 15% discount
Booking Code: NZESC

Check here for other City Centre accommodation options
City Centre Accommodation Options

On a budget

Book an Airbnb or Bookabach with a group of conference attendees, or share a room or apartment at some of the above City Centre accommodation options.

Activities
Check out the ChristchurchNZ website for all of the awesome activities you can do in Ōtautahi and the wider Canterbury / Waitaha region.

If you would like to visit some of the collections in Christchurch and Lincoln before or after the conference, please contact the below institutions at these contact details. There are no guarantees, but they may be able to accommodate you or potentially small groups.

Canterbury Museum: Johno Ridden or Bex Le Grice

Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research: Robyn White

Contact
For any enquiries or further information please email the conference organisers.