XVI th International Coccidology Symposium - ICS
Tbilisi (Georgia) 17-20 July 2023

Greetings. It has been a long time since we last met. The covid-19 pandemic has affected our daily life and the way we do research.

During the last International Committee of the International Symposium on Scale Insect Studies -ISSIS, held in Croatia, we changed the name of this periodical event to “International Coccidology Symposium”, but our essence is the same, and we will continue enumerating our meetings as usual. It is a pleasure to cordially invite you to participate in the XVIth International Coccidology Symposium - ICS-XVI meeting, which will be held in Tbilisi, Georgia, July 17-20, 2023.

The meeting will be organized by the Institute of Entomology and will take place at the Agricultural University of Georgia. The symposium will cover all aspects of scale insect studies, including systematics and morphology, genetics and evolution, zoogeography and fauna, biology and population dynamics, natural enemies, monitoring, and pest management. ICS-XVI is also intended as an opportunity to bring together people working on scale insects and to discuss the most recent research achievements in scale insect studies.

During the meeting one day field work and expedition will be conducted in Tbilisi Botanical garden, which is one of the oldest botanical garden in the Eastern Europe, 380 years old.

https://tbilisilocalguide.com/tbilisi/tbilisi-botanical-garden/

 

Post symposium tour will be done Tbilisi-Mtskheta-Gori-Uplistsikhe.

Mtskheta - It is one of the oldest cities in Georgia as well as one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the World. It is located approximately 20 km north of Tbilisi, at the confluence of the Mtkvari and Aragvi rivers. Currently a small provincial capital, for nearly a millennium until the 5th century AD, Mtskheta was a large fortified city, a significant economic and political center of the Kingdom of Iberia.

Gori - A settlement known here from the Hellenistic period, with the Gori Fortress built at least in 7th century, it received town status in the 12th century. Gori was an important military stronghold in the Middle Ages and maintains a strategic importance due to its location on the principal highway connecting eastern and western parts of Georgia. In the course of its history, Gori has been invaded by the armies of regional powers several times. The city was occupied by Russian troops during the 2008 Russo–Georgian War. Gori is also known as the birthplace of the Soviet leader and politician Joseph Stalin, ballistic missile designer Aleksandr Nadiradze, and philosopher Merab Mamardashvili.

Uplistsikhe - The earliest traces of human presence in Uplistsikhe date back to the end of the 2nd millennium BC. Its earliest remaining structures are from the beginning of the 1st millennium AD. With the Christianization of Kartli early in the 4th century, Uplistsikhe seems to have declined in its importance and lost its position to the new centers of Christian culture – Mtskheta and, later Tbilisi. 

The pre-registration form will be available on the web site (www.scaleinsectsymposium.org) and should be filled before April 30th, 2023.

Further information about accommodation, registration fees, instructions for the preparation of abstracts and a final manuscript, preliminary program for the meeting and excursions, will be available in the second circular, which is planned to be sent in January 2023. Updated information will also be available on the web site www.scaleinsectsymposium.org.

Looking forward to meeting you in Tbilisi.

Sincerely,

George Japoshvili - Professor, Director of Institute of Entomology, Agricultural University of Georgia

Head of local organizing commettee

Maia Khutsishvili - PhD, Researcher, Institute of Entomology, Secretary of local organizing committee
Zoia Tskaruashvili - Assistant, Institute of Entomology, Assistant of Secretary of Local organizing committee
Irakli Gujabidze - PhD student, Institute of Entomology, Assistant of Head of local organizing committee
Tea Arabuli - Associated Professor, Institute of Entomology, Advisor of local Organizing Committee
Nino Todria - PhD, Researcher, Helper of local Organizing Committee
Meri Salakaia - Assistant, Helper of local Organizing Committee

 

MEHMET BORA KAYDAN, Çukurova University, Adana, TURKEY

TAKUMASA KONDO, Agrosavia, COLOMBIA
DOUGLASS R. MILLER, ARS Systematic Entomology Laboratory, Beltsville, USA
YAIR BEN-DOV, Department of Entomology, Agricultural Research Organization The Volcani Centre, ISRAEL
CHRIS HODGSON, Department of Biodiversity and Biological Systematics, The National Museum of Cardiff, BRITISH KINGDOM
PENNY GULLAN, The Australian National University, Canberra, AUSTRALIA
GIUSEPPINA PELLIZZARI, University of Padova, ITALY
JOSE CARLOS FRANCO, University of Lisbon, Forest, PORTUGAL
BENJAMIN NORMARK, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA