Journal profile · Entomology
Insectes Sociaux
ISSN 0020-1812 · eISSN 1420-9098 · Springer International Publishing · FRANCE · Quarterly · Founded 1954
Insectes Sociaux: CAS Zone 3 · Agricultural & Forestry Sciences (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.69; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,990; median 127 days to acceptance (87 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 59 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Insectes Sociaux is published by Springer International Publishing and is in Zone 3 of Agricultural & Forestry Sciences in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior, Plant and animal studies and Insect and Pesticide Research, together about 76.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Insectes Sociaux (IS) is the journal of the International Union for the Study of Social Insects (IUSSI). It covers the various aspects of the biology and evolution of social insects and other presocial arthropods; these include ecology, ethology, morphology, population genetics, reproduction, communication, sociobiology, caste differentiation, social parasitism and conservation of social insects. The journal publishes original research papers and reviews, as well as short communications. An international editorial board of eminent specialists attests to the high quality of Insectes Sociaux, a forum for all scientists and readers interested in the study of social insects. Bibliographic Data Insect. Soc. First published in 1952 1 volume per year, 4 issues per volume approx. 600 pages per volume Format: 21 x 27.9 cm ISSN 0020-1812 (print) ISSN 1420-9098 (electronic)
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Entomology
Editor-in-chief Julia JonesPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 4, Australia 4, France 3, Germany 2, Italy 2 (26 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Insect and Arachnid Ecology and BehaviorBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology32.4%
- Plant and animal studiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences29%
- Insect and Pesticide ResearchAgricultural and Biological Sciences14.7%
- Animal Behavior and ReproductionAgricultural and Biological Sciences8.8%
- Neurobiology and Insect Physiology ResearchNeuroscience2.6%
- Fossil Insects in AmberAgricultural and Biological Sciences1.7%
- Insect Utilization and EffectsAgricultural and Biological Sciences1.4%
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics StudiesEnvironmental Science1.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Agricultural & Forestry Sciences Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Agricultural & Forestry Sciences | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Entomology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Agricultural & Forestry Sciences Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Agricultural & Forestry Sciences | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Entomology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Agricultural & Forestry Sciences Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Agricultural & Forestry Sciences | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Entomology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
CAB AbstractsCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, AGRICOLA, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 1.69LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.7Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.8LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.34LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.65LetPub ·
- h-index
- 53LetPub ·
- h-index
- 96OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,041OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.66OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 17.6%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 36.6%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 53LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 225,400Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 3,368 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 65 | 36 | 23 |
| 2025 | 59 | 28 | 81 |
| 2024 | 71 | 38 | 220 |
| 2023 | 47 | 24 | 283 |
| 2022 | 49 | 21 | 228 |
| 2021 | 49 | 18 | 404 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
127 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 87 days – 186 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 23 days (87 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 160 days
- Sample
- 87 articles with submission and acceptance dates (139 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- 6–12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 6 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,990 / EUR 2,990 / GBP 2,590 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Open calls for papers1, by deadline
Publisher websiteWhat to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 4
- Reference style
- Author–date
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
Article types accepted8
- commentaryInsectes Sociaux publishes Commentaries, Reviews, Research Articles and Short Communications. All manuscripts should begin with an introduction that describes w…Length not stated
- editorialInsectes Sociaux is the Journal of the International Union for the Study of Social Insects (IUSSI). It publishes original reviews, research articles and short c…Length not stated
- opinionInsectes Sociaux publishes Commentaries, Reviews, Research Articles and Short Communications. All manuscripts should begin with an introduction that describes w…Length not stated
- research articleInsectes Sociaux publishes Commentaries, Reviews, Research Articles and Short Communications. All manuscripts should begin with an introduction that describes w…Length not stated
- research reportInsectes Sociaux publishes Commentaries, Reviews, Research Articles and Short Communications. All manuscripts should begin with an introduction that describes w…Length not stated
- reviewInsectes Sociaux publishes Commentaries, Reviews, Research Articles and Short Communications. All manuscripts should begin with an introduction that describes w…Length not stated
- review articleInsectes Sociaux publishes Commentaries, Reviews, Research Articles and Short Communications. All manuscripts should begin with an introduction that describes w…Length not stated
- short communicationInsectes Sociaux publishes Commentaries, Reviews, Research Articles and Short Communications. All manuscripts should begin with an introduction that describes w…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, License & copyright, Open access
- AI use Generative AI Images
Please check Springer’s policy on generative AI images and make sure your work adheres to the principles described therein. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship principles
These guidelines describe authorship principles and good authorship practices to which prospective authors should adhere to. Authorship clarified The Journal and Publisher assume all authors agreed with the content and that all gave explicit consent to submit and that they obtained consent from the responsible authorities at the institute/organization where the work has been carried out, before th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Competing Interests
Authors are requested to disclose interests that are directly or indirectly related to the work submitted for publication. Interests within the last 3 years of beginning the work (conducting the research and preparing the work for submission) should be reported. Interests outside the 3-year time frame must be disclosed if they could reasonably be perceived as influencing the submitted work. Disclo…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability statements
All original research must include a data availability statement. This statement should explain how to access data supporting the results and analysis in the article, including links/citations to publicly archived datasets analysed or generated during the study. Please see our full policy here. If it is not possible to share research data publicly, for instance when individual privacy could be com…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Open Choice articles do not require transfer of copyright as the copyright remains with the author. In opting for open access, the author(s) agree to publish the article under a Creative Commons license. Details of the OA licences offered to authors can be found on the individual journal website, in the journal's How to publish with us guide. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Insectes Sociaux, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Springer International Publishing
- Country or region
- FRANCE
- Language
- Multi-Language
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- Founded
- 1954
- ISSN
- 0020-1812
- Electronic ISSN
- 1420-9098
- Society / sponsor
- International Union for the Study of Social Insects
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 73, Issue 2 (June 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Insectes Sociaux
What CAS zone is Insectes Sociaux in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Insectes Sociaux is in Zone 3 of Agricultural & Forestry Sciences, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Entomology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Agricultural & Forestry Sciences. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Insectes Sociaux?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.69; CiteScore 2.8, h-index 96.
How long does peer review take at Insectes Sociaux?
Based on the dates recorded on 87 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 127 days (interquartile range 87–186 days); authors report an average review time of 6–12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Insectes Sociaux?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–250 words; Keywords: ≥ 4; Reference style: Author–date; Suggested reviewers: Optional. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Insectes Sociaux based?
Of the 26 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (4), Australia (4) and France (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Insectes Sociaux?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Insectes Sociaux is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists CAB Abstracts and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Insectes Sociaux open access, and what is the APC?
Insectes Sociaux is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,990.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .