I’m an entomologist with the drive to make the world see how beautiful, funny, fascinating and indispensable insects are. The tools I use for this include teaching, giving lectures, doing research, appearing in the media and writing books for the general public.
Keywords
entomology, networks, fieldwork, Caribbean, ARISE, biodiversity, insect popularisation
Researchinterest
How do insect populations change? How to monitor these changes easily and reliably? What can be done to counter insect decline and how do we make known this is necessary in the first place?
Most animal species are insects, but the class is relatively poorly studied. The fact that it has only been a couple of years since research showed insect numbers have declined drastically proves that. I'm interested in finding out which species occur where and when, and how they interact with other species to form an ecosystem. Because insects are hard to study and identify, this means looking for ways to monitor them in a simple yet reliable way.
One way of accomplishing this is by involving citizen scientists, who often need to be convinced first that insects are fascinating enough to study.
Currenttopics
A selection of the topics I am working on currently.
ARISE: knowing Nature in the Netherlands
Entomofauna and flora Caribbean
LiveScience
In themedia
- In this episode of BinnensteBuiten (Dutch), expert Aglaia explores the Meijendel nature reserve, venturing out to discover the fascinating world of Dutch grasshoppers and bush-crickets.
- The article, from Trouw, is titled 'I like to kill those "useful" wasps and mosquitoes. How do I get rid of this hatred?' (Dutch).
I'm regularly talking about insects in the media. Please check my personal website for an overview of appearances and interviews.
