Nearly 300 entomologists from 14 states and three Canadian provinces are coming to Manhattan in early June for the annual meeting of the North Central Branch of the Entomological Society of America.

Kansas State University will host the meeting May 31-June 3 at the Hilton Garden Inn Conference Center. The university has previously hosted the event in Kansas City, but this is the first time it has been in Manhattan.

"We have the conference center, the Discovery Center, and downtown is booming," said David Margolies, local arrangements chair and professor of entomology at Kansas State University. "There's so much good stuff going on down there and I really wanted to showcase Manhattan."

Margolies noted participants also will see the city's penchant for great science. The upcoming construction of the National Bio and Agro-defense Facility and the Center for Grain and Animal Health Research has positive implications for entomologists.

The conference program, he said, is packed with more than three days of breakouts, including 11 symposiums that highlight basic and applied work with livestock, farm crops, genomics, stored product pests, vector diseases and more.

"The science presentations run the gamut from very basic to the applied as well as the research and teaching side of entomology," Margolies said. "In the past, the program has been more limited; we are expanding to reach people with many interests."

Groups will also have an opportunity to visit the Konza Prairie Biological Station and the Kansas State University Insect Zoo, and compete in an insect-related contest.

"The student contribution to the meeting is also very important, and we encourage that," said Margolies, noting that nearly one-third of the participants are graduate or undergraduate students who can attend events and workshops specific to their interests.

The meeting is open to all. For more information or to register for the meeting, visit http://www.entsoc.org/northcentral/2015-north-central-branch-meeting.