Charisma is often narrowly characterized by its aesthetic properties, emphasizing beauty and attractiveness; expanding this concept opens pathways toward a holistic approach to uncovering nuances in charisma, specifically pertaining to species appeal. While each species appeal may be relative, an underlying corporeal relationship can be described as one between a distinct subject and object. Charisma can be used to describe this relationship. Attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs fundamentally impact conservation cooperation and stewardship practices, therefore bringing attention to an object’s relational charisma can point conservation in oft-forgotten directions. This expansion moves ‘charisma’ beyond soft fur, and deeply into how humans interact with different species around them—making a childhood tree, a favorite fungus, or a captivating insect, worth saving. Grounding charisma in this way highlights a path forward in conservation; a path that moves beyond using the same few mammals as envoys and integrates non-traditional species into conversations surrounding biodiversity and management. Embracing the wild, odd, and weird can be tooled for comprehensive conservation campaigns, and demonstrates an oath towards ecological justice through a fully realized ecosystem approach to charisma and conservation alike. This talk will focus on insects: nearly universally reviled and yet facing the greatest biodiversity loss and extinction rates. How can insect charisma be defined and recentered to support diverse conservation?
