Brandon Claridge

After graduating with a bachelor's in general biology from Georgia State University in 2017, Brandon became fascinated with insect systematics and collections-based research after a summer internship at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (NMNH). While at the NMNH, Brandon assisted with the curation of the Diptera collection and began a revision of the apiocerid flies of South America. In 2018, Brandon began his Ph.D. working the systematics, phylogenomics, and historical biogeography of the parasitoid wasp family Ichneumonidae. Topics of special interest are: 1) the historical biogeography of the native ichneumonids of Hawaii; 2) patterns of intercontinental dispersal in the genus Lusius (Ichneumoninae: Phaeogenini); and 3) the phylogenomics and classification of the genera of Phaeogenini (Ichneumoninae). When time permits, Brandon also enjoys playing the 5-string banjo, hiking, and insect collecting.