Advisor: Robin Bagley

Bio: Carson grew up in Iowa where he learned to love nature. He enjoys birding, photography, biking, and wandering thrift stores.

Project: The community of parasitoids which attack Neodiprion lecontei (Red-headed Pine Sawfly) is relatively unknown. This parasitoid community largely consists of tiny wasps and some flies that lay their eggs in the larvae of N. lecontei (and, perhaps, other insects). Due to their small size and difficulty being observed, these wasps have largely been overlooked by researchers and insect enthusiasts, leading to – as we believe – an underrepresentation of Hymenopteran speciousness and diversity.

This project aims to begin the work of adequately representing Hymenopterans by describing the parasitoids of N. lecontei. Additionally, we hope to better understand the evolution of parasitoid-host relationships