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This one-day workshop with Steve Compton will cover the identification of chalcid wasps, one of the most species-rich groups of insects in the UK. An introductory lecture will outline the ecology and anatomy of these often very small but beautifully-metallic wasps.

The higher classification of chalcids has changed in recent years, with a considerable expansion in the number of recognised families within the world fauna. By the end of the day, participants should be able to distinguish between the families present in Britain.

Our tutor: Steve Compton is the retired Reader in Entomology at the University of Leeds and a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society. He has an interest in parasitic hymenopterans in general, but his research has centred on one particular group of chalcids – the fig wasps responsible for pollination of fig trees. His research has taken him to a many different countries and habits – from the rainforests of Borneo to investigate how high chalcids fly, to the Namib Desert where he showed that some wasps can travel hundreds of kilometres between their hosts.

Workshop level – Intermediate