Species exploration is where everything starts: recognising that an organism is distinct, giving it a name and placing it on the tree of life.
Darwin wasps
Much of our work focuses on the systematics, taxonomy and classification of parasitoid wasps, with a particular emphasis on Ichneumonidae (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonoidea) — a hyperdiverse family with about 25,000 described species and an estimated 100,000 species still waiting to be described.
Our taxonomic work has centred on the subfamily Ichneumoninae, the largest in the family, where we have described several new species. It extends across the whole family and to related groups such as Braconidae.
From descriptions to the tree of life
We describe new species, revise key genera and build resources such as the World Ichneumonidae Database (WID), which gives researchers worldwide the tools to study the evolution, ecology and diversity of these ecologically important insects.
We have investigated the evolution of key trait syndromes in Ichneumonidae and produced a phylogeny of the family. We are now working on the first calibrated phylogeny of the group, to identify the major shifts in its morphological evolution.
Beyond wasps
Exploration also means knowing what lives around us. Through Syrphidae of Italy we document the hoverflies of Italy, and through the Enns Entomology Museum we are building a picture of Missouri’s insect fauna, drawer by drawer.