John Hafernik

John Hafernik is professor of biology at San Francisco State University where he teaches entomology, evolution and ecology courses. He is also president of the California Academy of Sciences and past president of the American Association for Advancement of Science, Pacific Division. He first became interested in insects as a 6-year old boy in Texas and has been lucky enough to make that childhood passion his career. He studies the evolution, behavior and conservation biology of insects. His discoveries have been highlighted in Time Magazine, The Week, Scientific American, Science News and the New Scientist, among other venues. Recently, he discovered a new parasite of honey bees, the phorid fly Apocephalus borealis (a.k.a. the Zombie Fly). As a follow up, he and his colleagues created a new citizen science project, ZomBee Watch to determine where in North America the Zombie Fly is parasitizing honey bees.