Book series shows Brazilian entomology to the world

Professor Simon Elliot, the coordinator of the Postgraduate Program in Entomology from UFV, is the editor of the book series ‘Entomology in Focus’, published by Springer, in an agreement with the Entomological Society of Brazil (SEB). The aim is to offer up-to-date review titles that capture different aspects of the diverse biology of insects and lead the field in new directions.

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“Apart from publishing a book series, we wish to promote Brazilian entomology, and show its strength. The idea is to transform the books into reference texts. The authors, their institutions, and the country become widely known in that field”, says Elliot. He joins Professors Eugenio Oliveira (Postgraduate Program in Entomology from UFV), Adam Hart (University of Gloucestershire – UK), and Ken Wilson (Lancaster University – UK) on the Editorial Committee. 

The most recent publication in the series is “Triatominae – The Biology of Chagas Disease Vectors“, edited by Alessandra Guarneri (from Brazil) and Marcelo Lorenzo (from Argentina but resident in Brazil). The volume contains papers by authors from Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, United States, France, and Germany. “I believe this book is a turning point in our careers, a very important work that stakes a place for us definitively in the world’s scientific community. It brings me immense satisfaction. I believe that this is what every scientist works for: to do a good job and be acknowledged within the community”, says Guarneri, who, with Lorenzo, is a researcher at Fiocruz and frequently contributes to the Postgraduate Programme in Entomology in seminars and masters and doctorate defenses. 

The invitation to publish in Entomology in Focus, Guarneri tells, came from Professor Elliot, with whom she had previously published important papers, such as “Trypanosoma cruzi, Etiological Agent of Chagas Disease, Is Virulent to Its Triatomine Vector Rhodnius prolixus in a Temperature-Dependent Manner”, in Plos Neglected Tropical Diseases. “It was hard work because it was a big paradigm change. Trypanosoma cruzi was historically considered non-pathogenic to the insect. After this paper, others have been published reinforcing our conclusion.”

In this book published by Springer, Guarneri explores the Triatominae group in 20 chapters with themes such as taxonomy, ecology, physiology, host-parasite interactions, control, and others. “The idea was to unite different specialists in one interesting and relevant book for those who work with or are interested in the subject. Being part of the series, the book is surely going to have a bigger impact”. 

“There was no reference book about triatomine bugs to date”, highlights Elliot. “And this is an important subject in biology because animal hormones were first discovered in triatomines. These insects have an important role as models, especially in physiology and endocrinology. Moreover, considering it is a neotropical insect, it’s important to have a book led by neotropical authors.” 

The series Entomology in Focus is available at this link. The guide to suggest publications is also published here.

Photo: Zezinho68, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

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