Julia Giehr

My name is Julia Giehr. I am a Ph.D. student at the Department of Evolutionary Biology and Zoology at the University of Regensburg, Germany. Currently, I am working on worker reproduction in Temnothorax ants. The project gives me the opportunity to combine field work, behavioural observations, and population genetics.

Social insects, especially ants, caught my interest already during my bachelor studies. In the following years I got the opportunity to focus on different life history traits of ants. I was working on various projects and examined, for example, terminal investment, ageing, and mating in different ant species.

During my scientific work with my tiny ants, I developed a fascination for the small and inconspicuous species and started to record my animal research participants photographically. Macro photography became a hobby, and I am constantly trying to improve my skills. It is great to have the opportunity to combine my scientific work with my passion for pictures of beautiful little details that are invisible to the eye.

When I am not working, I love to travel. Short trips to other cities as well as three-week road trips are always a welcome change. The world offers so many fascinating impressions if you take a closer look, and you should always have a camera with you to take a picture.

If you have any questions or suggestion in general or related to the blog, please drop me a line: Julia.Giehr[at]ur.de or just follow me on Twitter https://twitter.com/JGiehr