New Zealand's national entomology society holds its 74th annual conference at The Pā on the University of Waikato's Hamilton campus from 2 to 4 September 2026, with talks in the wharenui Ko Te Tangata and a programme spanning taxonomy, biosecurity, ecology and mātauranga Māori.
The Entomological Society of New Zealand will hold its 74th annual conference from 2 to 4 September 2026 at The Pā, the flagship building on the University of Waikato's Hamilton campus. Talks take place in the University wharenui, Ko Te Tangata ('for the people'), with the conference proper beginning on Wednesday 2 September and closing at lunchtime on Friday 4 September. A pre-conference scientific illustration workshop and student social run on the evening of 1 September, and an optional field trip to Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari follows the close on 4 September.
The conference is delivered by the Entomological Society of New Zealand (ESNZ), the national society for the study of insects and related arthropods, founded in 1951 and with close to 250 members as of 2025. The society has met annually since its first conference in Nelson in 1952. The 2026 organising committee is led by Dr Chrissie Painting and Dr Andrew Barnes, both of the University of Waikato, who are the named contacts for the event.
The conference draws entomologists, ecologists, biosecurity researchers, students and collections specialists from across Aotearoa. Prospective symposia span Taxonomy & Systematics, Biosecurity, Ecology, Conservation and Restoration, Mātauranga Māori, Collections and Collections Care, Physiology & Behaviour, Genes & Genomes, Outreach and Global Change. Plenary speakers are Dr Ang McGaughran of the University of Waikato, Dr Neil Birrell of the University of Auckland and award-winning illustrator and cartoonist Giselle Clarkson, who also delivers the student illustration workshop. Presentations run as 15-minute full talks, 5-minute speed talks and posters, with the poster session held in Te Kōpūroa within The Pā on the first evening. Registration closed on 19 August 2026; all presenters attend in person, with an online watch-only option for delegates.
The University of Waikato campus sits roughly a 10-minute drive from central Hamilton. For delegates staying in the city, the most reliable link is The Meteor bus, which runs 3-4 times an hour direct from the Hamilton Transport Hub to the University; routes 13, 17 and 20 also stop nearby, payable by Bee Card or cash. Drivers can park at Gate 1 off Knighton Road via the PayMyPark app. The organiser lists central-city accommodation options including Novotel and Ibis Hamilton Tainui (about 4.5km from the venue), the Distinction Hotel Hamilton (7.8km) and the VR Hotel (5.1km), with the conference dinner held at the Ibis on 3 September. Hamilton is served by Hamilton Airport with domestic connections, and the campus is within easy reach of the city centre.
This is a recurring national scientific-society conference with a fixed institutional host, drawing a specialised research audience to a purpose-built university venue in the Waikato. It is a repeatable, association-driven fixture on the New Zealand business-events calendar, anchoring a multi-day academic programme, catered social functions and an off-site field excursion in a regional centre outside the main Auckland-Wellington-Christchurch axis.
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