EDITORIAL Ecological Entomology ± leading ecology into the 21st Century? Twenty-®ve years of excellence in perspective SIMON R. LEATHER Department of Biology, Imperial College, Silwood Park, Ascot SL5 7PY, U.K. The journal Ecological Entomology was founded in 1976, replacing the old Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society (Leather, 1996), although ecologically inclined ento- mologists had been publishing very successfully in the general ecological journals since their foundations in the early 20th Century. The purpose of the new journal was to raise the pro®le of the Royal Entomological Society's publications and to provide a more specialist forum for entomologists around the world. At the time there were many more Entomology Departments and courses than there are now. In the U.K., for example, there is now only one degree in entomology and that is at M.Sc. level, and a small number of entomology courses offered as parts of biology and zoology degrees at under- graduate level in some university departments. In other countries, e.g. the U.S.A., the situation is somewhat more hopeful, with not only entomology degrees available but also many Entomology Departments still to be found in a number of universities. Entomologists, however, like insects, are highly adaptable creatures and have managed to continue to ply their trade and prosper, albeit under a variety of guises. Many scientists working with insects today would hesitate to describe themselves as entomologists (Hunter, 2000). This adaptability has allowed them to publish the results of their research in a number of fora around the world. Ecological Entomology has undergone some cosmetic changes, going from a fairly plain cover in 1976 to the current illustrated cover. At the same time it has increased its dimensions. The number of pages rose from 300 in 1976 to over 500 in 1991, falling to approximately 400 in 1992 when the page size was increased, but has now reached 500 pages once more. For the ®rst 20years of the new journal, the average number of pages per paper fell (Fig. 1) (the sharp decline in 1992 is an artefact caused by the change in journal format), perhaps representing the chase for least publishable units rather than a more succinct writing style! Since then, however, the average size of papers has crept up again, and in 1999 jumped hugely to almost 8.5 pages per paper. Ecological Entomology has had ®ve changes of editor since its inception, from very different areas of entomology. The ®rst editor appointed was Trevor Lewis, an agricultural entomol- ogist, followed by John Lawton, an ecologist with very wide ranging interests indeed, Ernie Pollard, a butter¯y ecologist, Mike Begon and Dave Thompson, both ecologists with interests in the interactions between insects and their natural enemies, and most recently Simon Leather, an ecologist whose research lies in the areas of insect±plant interactions and biological control. John Lawton and Dave Thompson both have a love of the Odonata. A range of research areas has therefore had the potential to be favoured by particular editors. In this article I address two main questions: did the creation of Ecological Entomology meet the expectations of the Royal Entomological Society in providing an international forum for research worldwide, and have the changes in editors been re¯ected in the subject matter of the journal or has the journal mirrored the changes in ecology? The answer to the ®rst question is an emphatic yes. Ecological Entomology is regarded as the premier journal of its kind worldwide. Its impact factor has risen from 0.9 in 1993 to 1.82 in 1999. It is listed in the top 10 entomological journals, being beaten regularly only by the review journals such as Annual Review of Entomology, and coming in 5th in 1998 and 1999. Since 1976, authors (®rst authors only used) from 41 countries have published their papers in Ecological Entomology. In 1976, only eight countries were represented Fig. 1. Mean number of pages per paper published in Ecological Entomology 1976±99. # 2000 Blackwell Science Ltd 371 Ecological Entomology (2000) 25, 371±373 Ecological Entomology (2000) 25, 371±373