Contributing Scientists
Dr. Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson, PhD
Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson is a professor in conservation biology at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) in Ås, Norway, where she lectures on nature management and forest biodiversity. Her research focuses on insect ecology, forest ecology and ecosystem services. Anne is also is the bestselling author of ‘Extraordinary Insects’, a non-fiction book about why we should all love insects, translated into more than 20 languages. Her recent book, ‘Tapestries of Life: Uncovering the Lifesaving Secrets of the Natural World’ was nominated for The Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature 2020 and will appear in several translations.
Watch Anne’s Ted Talk: www.youtube.com/watch
Peter Smithers
Peter Smithers is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society and an Associate Research Fellow at the University of Plymouth where he worked as an entomologist until 2014.
He has a broad interest in invertebrates from ants to flies and moths to millipedes but his research has focused on the ecology of spiders and cave inhabiting spiders in particular. He also developed a keen interest in communicating entomology to the public and has organised exhibitions, film festivals and theater productions which take insect biology to a wider audience in an entertaining but informative fashion. Recently he has become interested in the role that insect could play in feeding a growing world population and as organised many events to explore this concept. He now chairs the Royal Entomological Societies Special Interest Group on Insects as Food and Feed.
Dr. Jessica Ware, PhD
Jessica Ware is an associate curator in invertebrate zoology at the American Museum of Natural History. Dr. Ware’s research focuses on the evolution of behavioral and physiological adaptations in insects, with an emphasis on how these occur in Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) and Dictyoptera (termites, cockroaches and mantises). Her research group focuses on phylogenetics/phylogenomics and uses these tools to inform their work on reproductive, social and flight behaviors in insects. Jessica holds a BSc from the University of British Columbia in Canada, and a PhD from Rutgers, New Brunswick.
She was an NSF postdoctoral fellow at the AMNH 2008-2010, before being hired at Rutgers Newark where she was an associate professor of evolutionary biology. She is the current president of the Worldwide Dragonfly Association, and serves as vice president of the Entomological Society of America. She was recently awarded a PECASE medal from the US government for her work on insect evolution.
Dr. Andreas H. Segerer
Andreas H. Segerer is deputy director of the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology. He is the president of the entomological society in Munich, the largest entomological association in Germany, a member of the advisory board for entomology of the Naturschutzinitiative e.V. and acting as the scientific spokesperson for the Bavarian referendum on biodiversity - ‘Rettet die Bienen!’
As an entomologist his primary focus is the order Lepidoptera - the butterflies and moths. The major topics of his research are the molecular characterisation and delimitation of species as well as the distribution in space and time in his native Bavaria and the Peruvian rainforest.
His book ‘Das Große Insektensterben’ was awarded the Salus Media Special Prize 2019.