Emma Kärrnäs

I am intrigued by how organisms evolve and how they are related to each other. Still today, millions of species are yet to be discovered and described. A large portion of these unknown organisms are insects, which is precisely what my current research is focused on.

Originally, I pursued a bachelor's degree in general biology and later a master's degree in animal ecology, both here at Lund University. The latter was largely centered on evolution and molecular ecology. During my master thesis project I looked into the phylogenetic relationships of the tephritid fly genus Tephritis, as well as the different species' use of host plants.

After defending my master thesis I worked for six months as a field, research and lab assistant on different projects. One of these projects included to genetically determine the closest relatives of the recently extinct Swedish population of Reverdin's blue, Plebejus argyrognomon. Now, I am currently a PhD student working on a revision of two genera of parasitoid wasps, Oomyzus and Quadrastichus, within the family Eulophidae. To resolve the relationships within the two genera, I am working with both morphological and genetic markers. My supervisors are Professor Niklas Wahlberg, Professor Emeritus Christer Hansson, Dr. Jadranka Rota and Associate Senior Lecturer Anna Runemark.