Last week, WildPosh partners joined the XIII European Congress of Entomology (ECE 2026) in Tours, France. This international conference brought together 1,400 participants to share research on the role of insects in ecosystems, agriculture, and sustainability through lectures, symposia, and poster sessions. 

WildPosh project manager Sara Reverte (University of Mons) presented work on distribution and trait databases for European wild bees and hoverflies, building on databases from the Safeguard project. Within WildPosh, the team has been refining this database – filling gaps, removing duplicates, and standardising records – with a poster showcasing the results. Since both publications are recent, a key goal was raising awareness of their existence and the planned updates – both to inform potential end users and to open up opportunities for collaboration. Feedback on the talk was very positive, with strong interest from attendees.

WildPosh project manager Sara Reverte

WildPosh partner Sabrina Pesarini (University of Turin) shared research on extending ERA beyond honeybees, with support from our sister project, PollinERA. The talk presented the methodological approach developed within WildPosh, along with preliminary results, for assessing pesticide vulnerability across wild pollinator species.

Pesarini also took part in the roundtable Translating Entomological Science into Policy and Practice, discussing with other researchers the broader challenges of translating scientific evidence into regulatory and practical applications.

Sabrina Pesarini

Additionally, WildPosh partner Pensoft Publishers hosted a booth at the conference displaying project materials. They also held a workshop exploring how communication teams from EU-funded entomology projects, journals, and researchers can collaborate to make insect science accessible and relevant to policymakers, practitioners, and the wider public.