Dr. Erica McAlister is senior curator of diptera (flies) and siphonaptera (fleas) at the Natural History Museum, London. Her research focuses on taxonomy and biodiversity of flies and other insects, as well as unlocking data from historic specimens. She is the author of “The Secret Life of Flies” and “The Inside Out of Flies” and presenter of “Metamorphosis: How Insects Transformed Our World” and “Who’s the Pest?” on BBC Radio 4. She is also a visiting lecturer at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Harper Adams University in Shropshire, England.