Special Session 11

In recent years, there was a growing interest of researchers and public opinion on the world of insects. On one side, the honey bees, well known for their main production (honey) and for their role as pollinators and increasingly threatened by climate change, on the other one, the "emerging" insect species (e.g., H. illucens, T. molitor, A. domestica) reared and used as feed and/or food. Each insect species has specific needs and problems in terms of breeding and several aspects are not well known. The adoption of precision breeding techniques has the potential to contribute to the improvement of this sector by optimizing the “in farm” activities and promoting a more sustainable production.

Prof. Fulvia Bovera
Associate Professor at the University of Napoli Federico II, Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production. Her research activity is documented by more than 300 papers published as scientific papers in national or international scientific journals (n. 138 indexed on Scopus; H index =30, 2922 citations), as short or long abstracts in Proceedings of national and international congresses, or as chapters of books. She is Section Editor of Italian Journal of Animal Science, member of the Associazione per la Scienza e le Produzioni Animali (ASPA), member of the Directive Council of the Associazione Italiana di Coniglicoltura (ASIC). One of the main topics of her research activity is poultry production, use of insect meal in poultry nutrition, honey bee production and use of honey bee products in animal nutrition (poultry and fish).

Prof. Pier Paolo Danieli
Associate Professor at the University of Tuscia, Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences (DAFNE). His scientific research activity is documented by more than 100 contributions published papers in scientific journals, as short or long abstracts in Proceedings of national and international congresses, or as chapters of books. He is Co-guest Editor for the Special Issue of the Animals Journal titled “Precision Beekeeping for the Development of More Productive and Resilient Apiculture Systems”. He is a regular member of the Italian Association for the Science and Animal Production (ASPA). Among the fields of his academic activity, precision beekeeping, honey bee management, insect-for-feed rearing are those that highly fit the topics of the special session.

Prof. Juan José Pascual
Full Professor at the Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain), Institute for Animal Science and Technology. His research activity is documented by 276 scientific publications as scientific paper in international scientific journal (n. 116 indexed in Web of Science; H index=31, 2592 citations), as communications in national and international congresses, and as books or chapters of books. He is the editor in chief of the World rabbit Science (JCR journal), and president of both the Spanish Association of Rabbit Farming and the World Rabbit Sciense Association. He is the Spanish representant in the Insect Science Group of the EAAP. He is expertise in animal nutrition during 25 years has been also addressed to the Tenebrio molitor nutrition in the last 4 years, mainly in the nutritive evaluation of raw materials and the determination of their nutritional needs.