What happens when you mix after hours access to the Insectarium, local beers, and a fascinating expert lecturer? You get the Missoula Insectarium’s evening lecture series: “Bugs and Brews”!

Join us this month as we learn about the fascinating, complex, and gruesome life histories of insect parasitoids! Parasitoids blur the line between parasite and predator. They gradually consume a living host while they develop (as parasites do), but they ultimately kill their host (as predators do). Parasitoids have developed extreme strategies to subdue their hosts’ immune systems, hijack their hosts’ behavior and locate new hosts to feed the next hungry generation. While you might be tempted to think that such a bizarre lifestyle must be relatively uncommon, roughly 10% of all described insect species are parasitoids. Come learn about these amazing insects that have inspired wonder and horror amongst scientists for centuries.

Allison Dehnel is an entomologist with an inordinate fondness for parasitoids. She studied parasitic wasps that feed on aphids for her master’s thesis and is delighted to dive back into the complex and creepy world of parasitoids for Bugs and Brews. Allison is currently on staff as the Museum Interpreter at the Missoula Insectarium.

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