The insect world provides us with endless opportunities to learn about the evolutionary processes which create and govern the diversity of life on Earth. In the Sumner Lab we combine genomic, transcriptomic and behavioural approaches to try to answer big evolutionary questions in a range of insect systems. Some of our current research areas include:

The evolution of sociality

Cooperation and conflict in social systems

Major evolutionary transitions and superorganismality

The transition from sociality to social parasitism

The evolution of generalist and specialist parasitoid-host relationships

The evolution of parental investment strategies

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We are always interested in asking new questions, trying new approaches, and discovering new insect systems.