We combine genomic, transcriptomic, and behavioural approaches to understand how complex insect societies evolve. Our work is organised around four themes:

• Evolution

  Sociality, major transitions to superorganismality, social parasitism and parasitoid-host relationships.

  Photo: Craig Kirkwood (CC BY-SA 2.0)

• Genomics and Bioinformatics

  Novel social insect genomes and comparative genomic, phylogenomic, transcriptomic and proteomic approaches.

• Mechanisms and Development

  Gene expression, physiology and behaviour, and their role in caste determination, queen succession and social parasitism.

• Ecology and Human Interactions

  Ecology and ecosystem services of social and parasitoid wasps, agricultural applications, public perceptions and citizen science.

Read the work

Every paper, book chapter and preprint from the lab is listed on the Publications page. Papers by lab members published without Seirian as a co-author are on Wider Sumner Lab Papers, and each person’s own page lists theirs too.