How did you get interested in insects?

I was lucky enough to work as a researcher at the Natural History Museum (London) on a project sequencing DNA from historical bumblebees. It was through this project that I developed my interest in insects.

What does your research focus on?

I specialise in sequencing and analysing DNA from historical and archaeological specimens across multiple different species - from cattle to bees. My insect research, with the teams at the NHM and Imperial, has focused on the genetic analysis of several bumblebee species from Britain across the 20th and 21st centuries.

Over the last ~150 years people (both specialists and hobbyists) have collected insects from across Britain, they preserved them in their personal collections and then donated their collections to museums. These collections span time and geography making them a really valuable record of insect diversity. It is from these collections that we have sampled bumblebees for genetic analysis, all we need is a single leg and we can sequence a whole genome! We then compare genomes across time and geography to answer questions related to population change over the last century.

What’s the most exciting thing you have discovered?

Much of our work on genetic diversity of bumblebees is still ongoing. However, to begin we quantified the quality of the DNA preserved in historical insects using 113 genomes of Bombus lapidarius (Red-tailed bumblebee). We were able to demonstrate that while DNA is preserved, it is damaged similarly to other historical and archaeological samples, meaning that researchers should take this into account when working in the laboratory and in bioinformatic research. We showed that large scale analysis of historical genomes was feasible, highlighting the importance of the curation of these historical collections. 

How can we help conservation?

As we are living through a time of global change, conserving our flora and fauna is paramount. One avenue to aid conservation is to monitor the genetic health of a species. This can help scientists understand if a species, or specific populations, is losing genetic diversity.

This is important as losing genetic diversity can lead to the inability to adapt to environmental change. Our research helps to contextualise the changes in genetic diversity that have happened over the past century and creates genetic baselines for future monitoring to compare with.

Where is the strangest place you have done research on insects?

Nearly all my work is either in the ancient DNA laboratory or in my office at my computer!

What is your favourite insect?

Bumblebees! Bombus muscorum (Large Carder Bee) is a particular favourite of mine, unfortunately it is now classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN (2023) and is in decline in both Ireland and Britain.

What’s your favourite insect fun fact?

There are over 250 different species of bumblebees in the world, in Ireland we have 21, while in Britain there are 24.

Anything else you want to share?

To many people, museums may seem old, dusty and perhaps even boring, but to me they are wondrous places filled with infinite research possibilities. Museum collections are quite literally time machines. Using a range of scientific techniques (not just genetics), we can study species across the tree of life, helping us to answer questions about the past and even the present day. Please remember to support and appreciate museums!

A special acknowledgement to the museums who have supported our bumblebee work: Natural History Museum (London), Tullie, World Museum, Oxford University Museum of Natural History and National Museums Scotland.