top of page
yellow and black bee on white and black round fruit_edited_edited.jpg

THE
INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR THE STUDY OF

SOCIAL INSECTS

Our history

Founding the IUSSI

The IUSSI was born in Paris in 1952, the brainchild of the German ant biologist Karl Gösswald and the French termitologist Pierre Paul Grassé. At the previous year's International Congress of Entomology, Gosswald and Grassé had agreed that there was a clear need for a dedicated society focused on the social insects, and announced the inception of the IUSSI in Nature in 1951.

 

The society's journal Insectes Sociaux was launched in 1954. The inaugural issue included diverse contributions, including how honeybees manage the winter, the phylogeny of ants, aggression by workers, and a study by E. O. Wilson on cannibal larvae.​

image.png

Termitologist Pierre Paul Grassé (1885-1985). Image: Dictionnaire Amoureux des Fourmis.

image_edited.png

"The IUSSI unambiguously had two fathers. Pierre-Paul Grassé (1885-1985) of the University of Paris worked mainly on higher termites... Karl Gösswald (1907-1996) at the University of Würzburg in Germany studied ant ecology, with emphasis on the Formica rufa species-group."

 

      - Starr, 2002, The origin and early years of the IUSSI

image.png
image.png

The 1951 announcement in Nature of the founding of the IUSSI

image.png

The French Section in 1953, the second year of the IUSSI

"Riche en conséquences philosophiques et pratiques, apparaît l'étude des insectes sociaux. Elle comble les voeux du chercheur amoureux de l'étrange et de l'inattendu, mais aussi et surtout de celui qui essaie de découvrir l'essence des réalités biologiques les plus complexes, fleurs ultimes de l'arbre de vie."​​

image_edited_edited.png

"The study of social insects is rich in philosophical and practical consequences. It fulfils the needs of the scientist who loves the strange and the unexpected, but also and especially of those who seek to discover the essence of the most complex biological realities, the ultimate flowers of the tree of life."

Pierre Paul Grassé, at the opening of the IUSSI Congress in Wurzburg, 1955

image_edited.png

International Congresses

To date, there have been 19 international congresses, which now occur every four years. The 20th will be held in Freiburg in 2026. Alongside the international congresses, the different regional sections hold regional and national conferences and symposia.

​

So far, the IUSSI's international congresses have been held in Europe, North America, South America, Asia, and Australia.

Ant biologist Karl Gösswald (1907-1996), one of the two founders of the IUSSI.

Image: Zobodat.

1st

Paris, 1952

Flag_of_France.svg.png

6th

Bern, 1969

Flag_of_Switzerland_(Pantone).svg.png

11th

Bangalore, 1990

Flag_of_India.svg.png

16th

Copenhagen,
2010

Flag_of_Denmark.svg.png

2nd

Wurzburg, 1955

Flag_of_Germany.svg.png

7th

London, 1973

Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom_(3-5).svg.png

12th

Paris, 1994

Flag_of_France.svg.png

17th

Cairns, 2014

Flag_of_Australia_(converted).svg.png

3rd

Paris, 1957

Flag_of_France.svg.png

4th

Pavia, 1961

Flag_of_Italy.svg.png

8th

Wageningen,
1977

9th

Boulder, 1982

Flag_of_the_Netherlands.svg.png
Flag_of_the_United_States_(DoS_ECA_Color_Standard).svg.png

13th

Adelaide, 1998

Flag_of_Australia_(converted).svg.png

14th

Sapporo, 2002

Flag_of_Japan.svg.png

18th

Guaruja, 2018

Flag_of_Brazil.svg.png

19th

San Diego,
2022

Flag_of_the_United_States_(DoS_ECA_Color_Standard).svg.png

5th

Toulouse, 1965

Flag_of_France.svg.png

10th

Munich, 1986

Flag_of_Germany.svg.png

15th

Washington DC, 2006

Flag_of_the_United_States_(DoS_ECA_Color_Standard).svg.png

20th

Freiburg,
2026

Flag_of_Germany.svg.png

A Cephalotes ant worker from South America, famous for flat heads that function as doors to the nest. (Image: Wheeler, 1910)

image_edited.png

A recent analysis of the IUSSI's history by Buttstedt and coauthors (2024) highlights historic imbalances in representation between different geographical regions, and calls for 'greater inclusivity in the academic community'. To read the paper in Insectes Sociaux, see here. We are working to improve equality, diversity, and inclusion. To donate or fundraise for the Congress Travel Fund, see here.

Improving global inclusion

Contributions to IUSSI conferences, from Buttstedt et al. 2024. Reproduced under CC BY 4.0.

Attendees of the first IUSSI meeting, in Paris, 1952. Image: Dictionnaire Amoureux des Fourmis

image.png

The Japanese Section in 1954, at the 2nd Annual Meeting, Tokyo

Further reading

 

  • A history of the early days of the IUSSI was published by Dr Christopher Starr in 2003, in Genes, Behaviors, and Evolution of Social Insects (eds. Kikuchi, Azuma, & Higashi), and is available online.

  • A detailed resource containing materials from many of the IUSSI's international congresses is maintained by Professor Alain Lenoir at Dictionnaire Amoureux des Fourmis

image_edited_edited_edited.png

Mischocyttarus wasp dominating a nestmate. From Jeanne (1972).

Secretary-General Prof. Mark Brown (Royal Holloway, University of London)

President Prof. Judith Korb (University of Freiburg)

Editor-in-Chief, Insectes Sociaux Prof. Madeleine Beekman (University of Sydney)

Ideas or feedback?

For ideas or suggestions about the new IUSSI website, or to update information about your IUSSI section, please get in touch.

The IUSSI is a 501(c)(3) scientific society committed to advancing the study of social insects through rigorous, evidence-based research. We remain nonpartisan, do not endorse political candidates or agendas, and uphold scientific integrity. The IUSSI was registered as a charity (not-for-profit organization) with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, constituted in the state of Ohio, in August 2012. The registration letter can be viewed or downloaded as a PDF document on the 'About Us' page.

bottom of page