Dr Erica McAlister

I am the Senior Curator for Diptera and Siphonaptera. I manage the lower Brachycera, Mycetophilidae and Culicidae collections in Diptera, and the Siphonaptera collection.

My specific interests lie within Diptera especially Culicidae, Asilidae, and Mycetophilidae. I have carried out many research projects with mosquitoes including contract work for the MoD in Tajikistan alongside Dr Ralph Harbach where we were involved in the training of mosquito identification and malaria incrimination over a three year project. I am also involved in UK Mosquito projects which have included incriminating for viruses and are currently undertaking on an historic DNA recovery project with Dr Mara Lawniczak, from the Sanger Wellcome Institue .

I am involved in an ongoing Asilidae taxonomy research project and am currently working on a large revision of Australian species with an external Collaborator.

I have been working with Operation Wallacea since 2015 out in Dominica, teaching entomology and studying the invertebrate, specifically Dipteran fauna of the Island.

As well as my profession commitments I am very much involved in Public engagement both within the museum and externally and in 2019 I gave the opening plenary lecture at the Entomological Society of America's Annual Conference. Within the Museum, I have participated in Nature Lives, Nigh Safaris, and both childrens and Adult dinosnores.

Externally I have presented two Radio 4 series on Insects (Who's the Pest https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01r6hzzand Metamorphosishttps://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000sql2) as well as appearing in many others (Radio 3, 4 and BBCLondon) including the Life Scientific, Nature Table and the Infinite Monkey Cage. I have present talks to Natural History Societies, giving talks for Cafe Scientific, Pub Science, a Summer Lecture for the Royal Society, and also Ratio (Bulgaria). As well as these I have participated in Ugly Animals, Science Showoff and Museum Showoff.

I published an award winning popular science book titled ‘The Secret life of Flies’ in 2017 and published a follow up 'The Inside Out of Flies' in 2020