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Division of Plant Science & Technology · University of Missouri

EPIC Lab

Species Exploration, Phenomics, Informatics & Conservation

We study the diversity of insects — parasitoid wasps above all — through taxonomy, comparative anatomy and biodiversity informatics, using the collections of the Enns Entomology Museum.

Our research →Join the lab

About the lab

Insects are the most diverse animals on Earth, and most of them are still unknown.

The EPIC Lab studies that diversity from the specimen up. We discover and describe new species, measure how insects are built and how their anatomy evolves, and turn museum collections into open, connected data that anyone can use.

Our work centres on parasitoid wasps — especially the hyperdiverse Ichneumonidae, or Darwin wasps — but reaches across insects, from hoverflies to the many groups held in Missouri’s insect collection. We are based at the Enns Entomology Museum, home to more than 7 million specimens.

Our research →Meet the lab

Research programme

Four areas of research

Each area builds on the previous one: new species call for careful anatomy, anatomy becomes data, and data anchored in collections document how diversity changes.

Research overview
  1. 01Species ExplorationFinding, naming and classifying insect diversity.Taxonomy and systematics of parasitoid wasps — above all Ichneumonidae — and other insects: new species, revisions, phylogenies and fieldwork.
  2. 02PhenomicsWhy insects look the way they do.Comparative anatomy, imaging and anatomy ontologies to measure form at scale and trace how morphological traits evolve.
  3. 03InformaticsTurning specimens into open, connected data.Biodiversity databases, digitization and data standards that link specimens, names, images and literature — WID, Syrphidae of Italy and the Enns Museum.
  4. 04ConservationUsing collections to document change.Historical specimens as a baseline: resurveys, regional checklists and data that help track — and protect — insect diversity over time.

16

new species and subspecies described

24

publications

81

collaborators worldwide

7M+

specimens in the Enns Entomology Museum

Rows of compactor cabinets in the Enns Entomology Museum
A drawer of dragonflies stored in envelopes
Shelves of specimens preserved in alcohol

The Enns Entomology Museum

A lab within a research collection

The lab is based at the Enns Entomology Museum, the insect collection of the University of Missouri, with more than 7 million specimens. The collection is both the starting point of our research and the place where the data we produce are kept and shared.

Visit the museum website ↗

Databases and resources

Opportunities

Join the lab

The lab is recruiting graduate students and undergraduate researchers, and welcomes postdoctoral and visiting researchers interested in taxonomy, phenomics, biodiversity informatics and collections.

Positions and how to apply →[email protected]

News

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