Seirian Sumner

Seirian is a British Professor of behavioural ecology at University College London. She studies social insects to understand their behaviour, ecology, evolution and role in ecosystems. To this end, she has spent her career chasing wasps, bees and ants across the world. She is especially fond of wasps, and is working hard to give them a PR makeover. As part of these efforts, she co-founded the Big Wasp Survey in 2017 – a citizen science project to engage the public with wasps in their back yard. In May 2022 her book ‘Endless Forms: Why You Should Love Wasps’ was published, giving everyone a reason to better appreciate wasps. Seirian has also won multiple awards for her efforts in promoting women in science, as co-founder of Soapbox Science.