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 Sumner and Idris Adams, I am investigating the evolution of body size in the Sphecidae family. Specifically, I am exploring how body size relates to life-history traits such as prey choice and nesting behaviour across species, to better understand the ecological and evolutionary pressures shaping these solitary predatory wasps. As part of this work, I have had the opportunity to collaborate with curators at the Natural History Museum, where I have used their extensive Sphecidae collections and imaging systems to collect morphological data, gaining hands-on experience with museum-based research and specimen handling.

Overall, I have thoroughly enjoyed working on this project with the Sumner Lab, and the experience has significantly deepened my understanding of research and evolutionary biology.

One of Daisy’s specimens, from the London NHM.

Daisy – outside the UCL Genetics, Evolution and Environment Department, Gower Street.