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ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF ONTARIO 162nd Annual General Meeting Joint Meeting with the Ontario Pest Management Conference
October 24-26, 2025
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The 162nd Annual General Meeting of the Entomological Society of Ontario will be October 24-26, 2025 at the Royal Botanical Gardens Home - Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington ON. The meeting is being held in conjunction with the Ontario Pest Management Conference (OPMC) Home | Ontario Pest Management Conference.
The biological control symposium will focus on current and past entomology, weed control and pathology research being conducted in Ontario and will feature these leading researchers:
Roselyne Labbe (AAFC) greenhouse vegetables
Sarah Jandricic (OMAFA) greenhouse floriculture
Rob Bourchier (AAFC) invasive weeds
Sandy Smith (University of Toronto) forestry and biocontrol history
Andrew Wylie horticulture
The biological control symposium will focus on current and past entomology, weed control and pathology research being conducted in Ontario and will feature these leading researchers:
Roselyne Labbe (AAFC) greenhouse vegetables
Sarah Jandricic (OMAFA) greenhouse floriculture
Rob Bourchier (AAFC) invasive weeds
Sandy Smith (University of Toronto) forestry and biocontrol history
Andrew Wylie horticulture
Banquet Speaker
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Steve Marshall, University of GuelphNo easy species?Abstract: There is a widespread misconception that the discovery of a new species is a rare, exciting and more or less instantaneous event, but in fact the formal recognition, documentation and description of taxa new to science normally takes place decades after they are first found or collected. The stereotypical image of a pith-hatted entomologist excitedly declaring a specimen as new to science is thus in marked contrast to the experience of professional systematists. Nonetheless, this talk will examine a few insect discoveries that stood out as "aha!" moments when first found.
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Plenary Speakers
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Rebecca Schmidt-Jeffris, USDA-ARS Wapato WAMaking augmentative biocontrol work outside of greenhouses: Can it be done?Abstract: Many organic tree fruit growers in the Pacific Northwest release insectary-reared natural enemies for pest control. Current recommendations for how to perform releases are primarily based on research from the greenhouse industry, which differs from PNW tree fruit in target pests, crops, and climate. Orchardists indicate that the lack of crop-specific best practice guidelines is their biggest hurdle to successful release implementation. This presentation will summarize ongoing research evaluating releases of natural enemies for pest control in organic tree fruit orchards, particularly focusing on lacewing releases as a tool for aphid and mealybug management in apples.
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Simon Lachance, La Cité, OttawaCrossing boundaries in biocontrol: the tarnished plant bug and the house flyAbstract: The tarnished plant bug (Lygus lineolaris) and the house fly (Musca domestica) are major pests of crops and livestock, respectively. Despite occurring in very different agricultural environments, they share features that make them particularly challenging to manage: utilization of a wide variety of food resources, rapid reproduction, and high dispersal ability. This presentation reviews past and current biological control efforts for these two pests within integrated pest management programs. Comparing successes, limitations, and lessons from these systems offers insights for developing innovative approaches.
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Symposium Speakers
Sarah Jandricic, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness
Too pretty for biocontrol? How ornamental growers in Ontario overcame pest management stereotypes.
Abstract: How did greenhouse production become the agricultural industry with the highest adoption rate of biological control? And how did early success using natural enemies in greenhouse vegetables translate to the floriculture industry, where there is little tolerance for blemishes? Learn which floriculture biocontrol programs have been successful and why current pest priorities may not be so easy, even with 30 years experience under our belts.
Rose Labbe, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Mitigating the challenges to greenhouse crop protection in Ontario: past, present and future
Abstract: Ontario’s greenhouse industry contributes nearly $2B a year to the national economy and is a global leader in innovative and efficient year-round food production. Yet every year, new pest management challenges arise that requires this sector to continually evolve new tools and tactics, with biological control as a keystone in sustainable integrated pest management. The history and current state of greenhouse food crop production in Ontario will be summarized, highlighting some of the pest management challenges and innovative biological control tools and strategies developed that will usher the industry to effective pest suppression well into the future.
Sandy Smith, University of Toronto
Ebbs and flows of biological control in Canadian forests
Abstract: Biological control has been an important tactic in the management of Canadian forests for over a century, but one fraught with variable success depending on public perception of environmental risk and availability of alternative control tactics. Our successes have been built on the detailed work of leading forest entomologists who emphasized the need for basic studies on insect life histories, classic population dynamics, and applied large-scale field releases. Here, we provide an overview of Canada’s track record, describing the handful of recent biocontrol projects over the last 20 years, with focus on the invasive emerald ash borer in Ontario.
Rob Bourchier, University of Toronto & Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Heart of gold - biological control of invasive plants in Canada
Abstract: Canada has a long history of successful public-good research targeting the suppression of introduced invasive plants with biological control. The release and establishment of a biocontrol agent in Canada is the culmination of 10 to 15 years of international cooperative work through a seven-step process to: identify promising agents, conduct host-range testing for safety and impact, release and establish agents, and monitor spread and long-term impact. The presentation will review weed biological control history in Canada, how biocontrol agents happen, and describe the invasive Phragmites biological control project through its stages from 1998- to present day.
Andrew Wylie
Reining in microbes: Can microbial biocontrol catch up with entomological biocontrol
Abstract: Biological control of plant pathogens has historically lagged behind arthropod systems. Tools including metagenomics and metabolomics can help illuminate the complex microbial ecologies and the plant-microbe-environment interactions that underpin plant disease management using biological control. We illustrate expedient approaches to develop holistic results on the effect of microbial biocontrols with specific disease systems from our research in Ontario. Plant disease research using currently available tools is on the cusp of being able to develop management strategies that reach the specificity, reliability and efficacy employed in entomological biocontrol systems.
AGM 2025Where: Royal Botanical Gardens, Burlington, Ontario
When: October 24-26, 2025 (Friday afternoon and evening to Sunday) Program: ESO 2025 Full Program Click here for the full list of abstracts Contact the Organizing Committee: [email protected] Schedule at a GlanceFriday, October 24 (RBG Rock Garden Facility)
9:00 AM – 2:00 PM: OPMC program 2:30 PM – 8:00 PM: joint ESO and OPMC biological control symposium and mixer Saturday, October 25 (RBG Main Centre) 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM: ESO program Sunday, October 26 (RBG Main Centre) 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM: ESO program Call for Abstracts - ClosedESO Presentation InstructionsESO presentation instructions
Oral Presentations Student oral presentations will be scheduled for 12 min, with 10 min for speaking and 2 min for audience questions. Regular member presentations will be scheduled for 15 min, with 12 min for speaking and 3 min for audience questions. Presentations should be in PowerPoint format and uploaded from a USB memory device to the conference room laptop 30 min prior to the morning or afternoon session that you are speaking in. Posters Posters should be 90 x 120 cm (3 x 4 ft) in portrait format. Posters will be assigned numbers and can be set up on the poster board with your corresponding number on the morning of Saturday Oct 25 and taken down by noon on Sunday Oct 26. Please include the following camera symbol on your slides or poster if you would like to allow the audience to take photos of your slides or poster: All presentation applicants must also register for the meeting. Questions about ESO presentations can be sent to [email protected] OPMC Presentation InstructionsIf you would like to submit to the OPMC program (Oct 24), please use the following link:
Call For Submission (student & General) | Ontario Pest Management Conference OPMC submissions will be assessed by OPMC committee members separately from ESO submissions. Student AwardsDon’t forget to apply for President’s Prize Awards (1st place: $250, 2nd place: $125) and Travel Awards ($400)!
President's Prize Oral Presentation and Poster Competition: Click here to download the judging criteria Student Travel Award: Click here to download the criteria |
Registration and PaymentAttendees can choose to register for OPMC events only, ESO events only, or all OPMC and ESO events. Registration for any part of the conference includes free access to RBG's beautiful trails!
Registration for OPMC only includes all events held on Friday, October 24 (OPMC program, lunch, the joint ESO/OPMC biological control symposium, and the mixer). Registration for ESO only includes the joint ESO/OPMC biological control symposium and mixer held on Friday, October 24 (starting at 2:30 PM), and all ESO events held on Saturday, October 25 and Sunday, October 26 (plenary talks, regular talks and poster session, Saturday lunch and banquet, and coffee breaks). (Registration for this option does not include access to the regular OPMC program on Friday from 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM. ) Registration for ESO and OPMC includes access to all events from Friday – Sunday. Breakfasts are not included with any registration type. Early registration has been extended to September 24, and online registration ends on October 10. Early registration rates now end on September 24, and rates will increase after this date. Registration closes on October 10. All attendees must register using the Eventbrite page. Registration Price Before September 24 Student/Retired ESO Member in-person full conference
Regular ESO Member in-person full conference
Non- ESO Member in-person full conference
Registration Price After September 24 Student/Retired ESO Member in-person full conference
Regular ESO Member in-person full conference
Non- ESO Member in-person full conference
To qualify for the member rate, you must be a member of the ESO at the time of registration. To become a member or renew your existing membership, please visit the membership website. It is free for students, as well as retired and amateur entomologists! If you have any questions or concerns about registration, please contact Angela Gradish at [email protected]. |
