Book here – tickets are £15

The Braconidae is a large family of parasitoid wasps, with about 1,500 species in Britain.  Some are very well-known to anybody who rears caterpillars and aphids, but they are often tricky to identify. The 2-day weekend workshop offers an introduction to the subfamilies of braconids and some of the more easily recognisable species, as well as a guide to some of the literature for certain groups. There will be advice on collecting, rearing and mounting techniques as well as an overview of the biology and diversity of braconid wasps.

Our Tutors
Gavin Broad is a taxonomist working on ichneumonoid wasps. He is head of the insect collections at the Natural History Museum, London, and is a co-investigator on the Darwin Tree of Life initiative, to sequence the genomes of all UK species. Born in Liverpool, he maintains a keen interest in the wildlife of Hilbre Island, in particular.

Dr Mark R. Shaw is a taxonomist working on a large group, Ichneumonoidea, of western Palaearctic parasitoid wasps with a particular interest in their biology and host associations. Trained as a chemist, he switched to entomology, researching parasitoid wasps at Manchester University and then Reading University before joining the then Royal Museum of Scotland (subsequently National Museums of Scotland) in 1980, becoming Keeper of Natural History [zoology] in 1983 then Keeper of Geology & Zoology (later Natural Science) until retiring in 2005. Subsequently as an Honorary Research Associate at NMS he continues to build the research collection of parasitoid wasps, with a particular effort on rearing them from their hosts, and to publish on their taxonomy and biology.

Adults only (18+)

Access: There are lifts between each of the floors and assistance dogs are permitted

Image (c) Gavin Broad