Category: Advances in Pollinator Research

Insects and innovation: Pensoft in Portland 2025

Pensoft attended the Entomological Collections Network Annual Meeting and Entomology 2025, both held in Oregon’s largest city.

In November 2025, Pensoft’s Chief Communications Officer, Teodor Metodiev, crossed the Atlantic to represent the publisher at two entomology events  in Portland, Oregon: the Entomological Collections Network (ECN) Annual Meeting (8–9 November) and the Entomology 2025 conference (9–12 November).

Entomological Collections Network Annual Meeting

Held at the Hyatt Regency in Portland, the ECN 2025 annual meeting brought together professionals dedicated to the care, management, and use of entomological collections. The hybrid event featured live talks, pre-recorded lightning presentations and a silent auction in support of collection initiatives.

  • Pensoft’s stand at the ECN meeting.
  • Natural History Collections and Museomics featured prominently at the event.
  • Deborah Paul, one of the Editors-in-Chief for Natural History Collections and Museomics, with Teodor Metodiev.

At ECN 2025, Pensoft spotlighted its journals in entomology, particularly the newly launched diamond open-access journal Natural History Collections and Museomics (NHCM), which welcomes research on the preservation, digitisation and analysis of natural history collections. Building on last year’s successful collaboration, the meeting again highlighted the Topical Collection “Entomological Outreach Collections and Community Engagement,” published in NHCM and inspired by the 2024 ECN programme.

Entomology 2025

Pensoft joined more than 3,200 insect science professionals at the Entomological Society of America’s annual meeting, Entomology 2025 (Ento2025), hosted at the Oregon Convention Center. Over four days, the conference offered symposia, workshops, networking sessions, mixers and a busy exhibit hall.

Pensoft showcased the EU pollinator projects VALOR and AGRI4POL at Entomology 2025.

Pensoft exhibited at booth #715, showcasing the publisher’s portfolio of entomology journals and promoting two key EU-funded projects on pollinators: VALOR and AGRI4POL. Featuring professional scientific illustrations, attractive open-access publishing opportunities, and results from Pensoft-partnered EU projects, the booth attracted considerable interest from attendees.

A highlight of Pensoft’s presence at Entomology 2025 was the participation of Lars Straub, Editor-in-Chief of the newly launched Diamond Open Access journal Advances in Pollinator Research (APR). Straub moderated two student 10-minute presentation competitions and presented his own research, “Neonicotinoid exposure reduces fitness of a widespread butterfly, Vanessa cardui.”

  • Dr Alfred Daniel Johnson, a Journal of Hymenoptera Research author.
  • Dr Kevin Li, a One Ecosystem author.
  • Dr Claire Rutledge, a NeoBiota author.
  • Dr Lars Straub, Editor-in-Chief of Advances in Pollinator Research .
  • Dr Priyadarshini Chakrabarti Basu, an Advances in Pollinator Research editor.
  • Dr Yihang Li, a ZooKeys author.
  • Dr Jose ‘Joe’ Martinez, a ZooKeys author.
  • Yeshwanth, H M, a ZooKeys author.

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Following a fantastic week in Portland at both ECN 2025 and Entomology 2025, Pensoft looks forward to continuing its close collaboration with the entomological and collections communities. The Entomological Society of America’s next annual meeting, Entomology 2026, will take place on 8–11 November in Columbus, Ohio, where Pensoft plans to create more partnerships and continue its support for open science in insect research.

Pensoft showcases open science and restoration innovation at the IUCN World Conservation Congress

Pensoft joined thousands of global conservationists, policymakers, and researchers in Abu Dhabi for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress, the world’s largest and most influential event dedicated to safeguarding nature and shaping a sustainable future.

The grand opening ceremony of the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2025.

Held from the 9th to 15th of September 2025, the event brought together over 10,000 participants from 189 countries under five central themes: Scaling Up Resilient Conservation Action; Reducing Climate Overshoot Risks; Delivering on Equity; Transitioning to Nature-Positive Economies and Societies; and Disruptive Innovation and Leadership for Conservation.

Numerous concrete steps towards advancing conservation were taken at the event, from the adoption of a 20-year Strategic Vision for the Union, to the Abu Dhabi Call to Action outlining key global priorities, to announcing Panama as the host of the next World Protected and Conserved Areas Congress in 2027.

Pensoft’s involvement

Represented by Prof Lyubomir Penev (Founder and CEO), Maria Kolesnikova (Marketing and Sales Manager), and Denitsa Peneva (Scientific Illustrator), Pensoft took part in the Congress with a dedicated booth, engaging attendees in conversation about how open science, innovative publishing, and collaborative research can drive conservation.

Denitsa Peneva (left) and Maria Kolesnikova (right) representing Pensoft at the event.

Pensoft’s exhibit placed a strong emphasis on restoration and ecological research, showcasing the publisher’s active role in international initiatives supporting biodiversity recovery and sustainable ecosystem management. Numerous illustrated materials were available for attendees to browse through and take home.

A key feature of the booth was Pensoft’s participation in Horizon 2020 projects such as REST-COAST, which aims to restore and safeguard coastal ecosystems through innovative, large-scale nature-based solutions. Alongside the company’s project involvement, visitors explored Pensoft’s diverse range of open-access journals, including Nature Conservation, One Ecosystem, Estuarine Management and Technologies, NeoBiota, and the newly launched Individual-based Ecology. 

A selection of Pensoft’s materials at the congress.

Two sessions at the event presented Pensoft-partnered EU projects, highlighting the critical connection between science, policy, and practice: the first, Bridging Science and Policy: European Action for Biodiversity and Climate Goals was a collaborative effort of the COOP4CBD, BIOAGORA, RESPIN, and TRANSPATH projects; and the second was REST-COAST’s Advancing Large Scale Restoration Programmes Through Sharing Insights of EU Funded Nature Restoration Projects.

  • Maja Vasilijevic opening the session, Bridging Science and Policy: European Action for Biodiversity and Climate Goals..
  • Keynote speaker Musonda Mumba at Advancing Large Scale Restoration Programmes Through Sharing Insights of EU Funded Nature Restoration Projects.

A platform for lasting impact

One of the most anticipated events on the calendar, the IUCN Congress was a fantastic event that looked to the future of collaborative global conservation. For Pensoft, participation in Abu Dhabi reaffirmed its mission to foster open, accessible, and data-driven knowledge to support efforts to protect and restore our planet’s ecosystems.

  • Letsema Adontsi, Minister of Environment and Forestry, Lesotho.
  • Visitors at the Pensoft booth.
  • Taxonomist Korsh Ararat.
  • Kostas Triantis, author of several articles in Frontiers of Biogeography.
  • Nature Conservation author Kristijn Swinnen.
  • Sana Taktak, part of REST-COAST project.
  • IMA Fungus author Jonathan Cazabonne..
  • Nature Conservation author Neil D’Cruze.
  • Elisa Furlan and Elena Alegri from REST-COAST.
  • Sofia Paredes Maury and Claudia Garcia Barrios from the Guatemalan Association of the Private Nature Reserves.
  • Maggie Kilian, botanist and Director of Engaging Heritage Consulting.
  • Guido Berguido, who recently had a new species named ater him in PhytoKeys.
  • Srijana Joshi Rijal and Bandana Shakya from GBIF Nepal, with Pensoft’s Maria Kolesnikova.
  • Julia Sigwart, Senckenberg Research Institute. with Prof Lyubomir Penev.
  • BDJ author Rachel Haderle.
  • NeoBiota author Ana Nunes.
  • Pensoft Founder and CEO Prof Lyubomir Penev.
  • Matthieu Lapinski and Mathilde Michaud from REST-COAST.

The conversations, collaborations, and commitments shared at IUCN 2025 will continue to shape the publisher’s approach to science communication and innovation going forward.

Relive highlights of the conference on Bluesky and LinkedIn using the hashtag #IUCNcongress.