This issue contains three articles that deal with applied research. As stated in our guidelines, “Applied chemical ecology is an appropriate subject matter so long as the work is based on ecological problems or concerns”. Two of the papers in this issue, those by Tamirou et al. and Mukabana et al., are African studies that focus on worldwide problems of crop losses (maize) and infectious disease (mosquito control in malaria-infested regions). Some of this research was discussed at SEMIO11, a workshop on “Insect chemical ecology and multilevel pest management towards food security and sustainable development” held in November 2011 at ICIPE in Nairobi, Kenya. Both studies focus on recent developments. The third paper by Alpizar et al. deals with the successful use of mass trapping in the control of pests of banana (a worldwide threatened crop) over an extended time period. All three of these papers explore fundamental ideas in ecology as well as provide insights into important applied problems. We think that these papers will be of interest to our readers.

John T. Romeo

March, 2012