Hymathon 2025 will be held online 4–5 December.
| Session 1 | 04/12/2024 starting at ~17:00 UTC | Hosted by Jess Awad |
| Session 2 | 05/12/2024 starting at ~00:00 UTC (TBC) | Hosted by Luke Kresslein and Miles Zhang |
| Session 3 | 05/12/2024 starting at ~06:00 UTC (TBC) | Hosted by Alana McClelland |
| Session 4 | 05/12/2024 starting at ~13:00 UTC (TBC) | Hosted by Zoltán László and Emma Kärrnäs |
The 2025 ISH Business Meeting will also be held during Hymathon, time tbd (recording available to members).
To register to attend Hymathon, complete the form here. You will need to be logged into the website and a financial member to access the page. The Zoom link will be emailed once you register.
Don’t forget that if you attend all four sessions, you can receive a certificate with original artwork from a hymenopterist – an excellent bragging tool to show your dedication to Hymenoptera.
Program
Coming late November 2025
Scientific talks
All ISH members are invited to present during #Hymathon2025, and we particularly encourage students, early career members and researchers from a diverse range of countries to present.
We welcome presentations on all aspects of Hymenoptera: behaviour, biology, systematics,
biological control, evolution and more! We invite both regular talks (15 minutes including questions) and short talks (5 minutes): the latter could cover any topic of interest to hymenopterists including field trip stories, amazing specimens, new methods for field, lab or collection work etc.
Presenters are limited to one talk (either 5 or 15 minutes) per person, plus are welcome to also participate in The Hymenoptera Showdown and art competition.
Note that while Hymathon is a live event we can accommodate a few pre-recorded talks if needed (e.g. due to internet bandwidth issues) – please get in touch to discuss this if you are not able to give a live presentation.
To register a talk, complete the form below (note you will need to be logged into the website and a financial member to register a talk)
Keynote talks
Session 1: Amelia Lindsey
Session 2: Andrew Forbes
Session 3: To Be Confirmed
Session 4: To Be Confirmed
Hymenoptera Showdown
Refereed in 2025 by Erinn Fagan-Jeffries
Back for the third year running, the Hymenoptera Showdown is back in 2025! The showdown is an opportunity to tell all ISH members why your group is the best (or at least the best loved…) – in three minutes and three slides.
GET READY TO RUMBLE!!
Do you think that your study group is the best in the entire Hymenoptera order? Is there one taxon so amazing you want to tell everyone about it? Then it is your time to shine and embrace some friendly showdown!
Here are the rules:
Participants will have 3 minutes to demonstrate why their group is the best in the entire Hymenoptera, backing up that assertion with a mix of fun, cool and scientific facts; presentations will be 3 slides maximum. Anything can be used: beautiful images of specimens, amazing biological traits, astonishing species diversity, a unique distribution, body size, fossil record, cool names, importance, society recognition… the sky is the limit to brag about your group!
Taxa can be chosen at any level (from suborder to species); depending on the number of participants some categories may be established, for example, entries at family level or higher versus entries at genus level or lower, to guarantee fair comparisons and competition.
The winners will be selected by popular vote and will win glory to boast about their group to the entire Hymenoptera society!
Note: In 2025, presentations are encouraged to be pre-recorded so that they are available to view throughout Hymathon.
See the 2024 entries here for inspiration (you must be logged into the website to view the page)
Art competition
All ISH members are invited to take part!
We bring the Art Competition back with five exciting categories (see below) for Photography & Illustrations. Submit your work and share your unique vision! The competition is open to current ISH members only and will be judged by Hymathon attendants through online voting. The winning entries will be featured in the next issue of Hamuli.
Images can be entered in the following categories:
• Photography – Specimen :Specimen images of Hymenoptera.
• Photography – Live Hymenoptera :Live Hymenoptera images photographed in the field or in the indoor studio.
• Photography – Hymenopterists in action :Field work pictures, humorous or intriguing pictures of hymenopterists at work.
• Illustration – Scientific illustrations: Detailed and accurate drawings that represent the morphology and anatomy of Hymenoptera. These illustrations should be designed to provide a clear understanding of the species, highlighting specific features that may be of scientific interest, and can be used in research papers, taxonomic keys, or educational materials.
• Illustration – Fun & Artsy Hymenoptera/Hymenopterists: Creative and imaginative artworks that showcase Hymenoptera or Hymenopterists in a playful, artistic, or unconventional manner. These can be abstract interpretations, cartoons, or any other artistic renditions that bring out the fun and whimsical side of Hymenoptera and their researchers.
Student presentation prizes
There are student prizes for best standard-length talk in each session, and a prize for the best speed talk throughout all of Hymathon. Students are judged on scientific content and presentation. See here for the scorecard used for the 15 minute talks and here for the scorecard used for 5 minute talks.
#Hymathon2025 Organising Committee