Insect Research Group, University College London
January 2026-May 2026 UCL MRes Student Billy Easeman on his MRes Research Project with the Sumner Lab Wasps are an undervalued group of insects with high ecological importance as arthropod regulators which utilise two major strategies – as parasitoids (solitary, with larval parasitic stage) and aculeates (predators), both of which lack diet information. Billy’s project…
Sept 2025-March 2026 UCL Student Lousia Stefani on her BSc Research Project with the Sumner Lab. Co-supervised by Tannis Davidson at UCL’s Grant Museum of Zoology Museums play a key role in bridging the communication gap between scientists and the public. Louisa’s project explored the potential of museums to positively reshape public perception of widely…
UCL Student Daisy Choi on her BSc Research Project with the Sumner Lab Hello, I’m Daisy, a BSc Zoology student completing my final-year research project in the Sumner Lab. I have always been interested in evolutionary genetics, behavioural ecology, and the complex interactions between organisms and their environments. For my project, supervised by Prof. Seirian…
Summer time means wasps visiting picnics! Sometimes they go for protein (e.g. ham) other times it’s sugar (e.g. jam). Learning about the type of food wasps are after tells us about their life-cycle and can help us better manage them. Tell us what you’ve seen wasps do this summer at your picnic in this short…
Femi Ezhuthupallickal Benny on her recent fieldwork in Nagaland, India– First prize, Doctoral School Blog Competition 2025. What does it come to your mind when you hear ‘hornets’? For most people, it’s fear, hatred, stings and danger. But if you ask me, it sparks my curiosity- Which species is it? Where was it spotted? What…
Jéferson is a PhD student at the University of Sao Paulo who recently completed a 6 month project with the Sumner Lab involving transcriptomics in the neotropical wasp Zethus miniatus
Visiting PhD student from Autonomous University of Barcelona (Spain)
Femi Ezhuthupallickal Benny on ‘Insects as Food and Feed Conference’ (IAFF 2024) organised by the Royal Entomological Society.
Advancing Wasp Biocontrol Research: Insights from a Nanopore Sequencing Visit to Newcastle University.
Serian, Bob and Cintia were hosted by Prof. Tatsuya Saga (University of Kobe) for wasp hunting in Gifu.