PubSci Online | Dr Erica McAlister – The Inside Out of Flies

On Friday 26th March we’re delighted to welcome back Dr Erica McAlister, senior curator of Diptera in the Department of Entomology at London’s Natural History Museum,  with The Inside Out of Flies

The eyes of a Robber Fly [Artwork: R Marshall, source photo © NHM London]

In this talk, Erica looks at the astonishing mechanics of fly anatomy, revealing the engineering embodied in each species of fly and discovering some of the fascinating implications flies hold for human technology, from hearing aids to biomimetics.

Along the way expect flies without wings, flies with rotating genitalia and tales of the terrible hairy fly as she uncovers science lessons in the form and function of the humble fly. This is a talk not to be missed.

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Erica McAlister describes herself simply as somebody who “studies flies, talks flies, shows off about flies” – something of an understatement, perhaps,  for the country’s foremost communicator of fly science.

Who you gonna call? Not a ghostbuster, but our speaker, Erica McAlister with a giant pooter and a pig.

A passionate communicator of her topic, Erica is especially keen on encouraging young people to enter the field and frequently give talks to schools. As senior curator of Diptera in the Department of Entomology at London’s Natural History Museum, Erica is renowned for her extensive knowledge of the subject and the enthusiasm and humour with which she presents it.

She is a regular guest on BBC Radio 4, appearing on The Natural History Programme, The Living World, Who’s the Pest?, The Museum of Curiosity , and Natural History Heroes in which she championed the entomologist George Verrall. On TV she has featured in The Museum of Life and Springwatch 2017.

In April 2019, Erica was Jim Al-Khalili’s guest on Radio 4’s The Life Scientific and in March 2021 Erica presented a week of lunchtime programmes on Radio 4 called Metamorphosis – How Insects Transformed Our World, currently available on iPlayer and BBC Sounds. Earlier this month, Erica gave the annual Verrall Lecture of the Royal Entomological Society, appropriately titled ‘A Fascination of Flies’.

Erica is the author of two acclaimed books published in association with the Natural History Museum: The Secret Life of Flies (2017) and The Inside Out of Flies (2020)

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