About us

The Latin American Society of Acarology (SLA) welcomes you to its website, a space for interaction of the community of acarologists from Latin America and the Caribbean Islands, as well as for the promotion of scientific research, teaching and dissemination of the knowledge of mites in our region and throughout the world.

21 de julio de 1994, Columbus Ohio, USA

The SLA (Latin American Acarology Society) emerged as a dream of young Latin American acarologists on July 21, 1994, during the IX International Congress of Acarology in Columbus, Ohio, USA. After much effort, on September 28, 2001, in Mexico City, the legal formalization of the SLA’s Constitution and Statutes under Mexican law was achieved. Thus, the SLA was established as a non-profit civil association, which currently has more than 800 members from 24 countries.

More recently, during the Covid-19 pandemic, when academic activities and in-person events were suspended, we aimed to continue growing. This led to the first and second editions of the course Talking About Mites: Updates in Agricultural, Medical-Veterinary, and Biodiversity Acarology. This course was held virtually, with a teaching team composed of 20 renowned Latin American acarologists, and it attracted over 400 participants from 18 countries, including Australia, Canada, Spain, and Italy. This activity highlighted the great interest in various areas of Acarology, motivating us to organize the SLA’s Monthly Lecture Series, allowing members and those interested in the world of mites to access diverse topics of interest presented by leading acarologists. This SLA initiative is currently under development.

Throughout the growth of this Society, two International Congresses of Acarology (ICA) have been held – IX ICA in Mérida, Mexico (2002) and XIII ICA in Recife, Brazil (2010) – as well as four Latin American Congresses of Acarology (CLAc): I CLAc in Puebla, Mexico (2012), II CLAc in Quindío, Colombia (2016), III CLAc in Pirenópolis, Brazil (2018), and IV CLAc in Panama City, Panama (2023).

The objective of the current Board of Directors is to continue strengthening ties with SLA members by fostering awareness of the importance of knowledge and conservation of our biodiversity, for the benefit of our discipline and future generations of acarologists. Additionally, it seeks to engage with the general public, considering the impact that mites have on society.

We invite you to contribute to the enrichment of this page.

Welcome!

BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE LATIN AMERICAN SOCIETY OF ACAROLOGY (Period 2025-2028)