Research

We are interested in the evolution of reproductive behaviour, particularly in insects. We use our studies of insect reproduction to try and explain the tremendous diversity of insect strategies we see around us, and also to try and uncover general principles of adaptive evolution. Our work has typically focused on sexual selection, sexual conflict, and sex allocation.

The study species currently in the lab are five species of True Bug (Hemiptera), including the sister-species Lygaeus equestris and L. simulans.

Previous insects (and one crustacean!) that David and the lab have worked on include (in rough chronological order): butterflies (from the Natural History Museum to the North Wales coast); the damselfly Calopteryx splendens; the seaweed fly Coelopa frigida; the beetle Psilothrix viridicoeruleus; the mediterranean fruit-fly Ceratitis capitata; the meadow grasshopper Chorthippus paralellus; the two-spot ladybird Adalia bipunctata; the parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis; the mealybug Planococcus citri; the hermit crab Pagurus bernhardus.

Further additions to this list are always welcome, and may even include Drosophila one of these days.