People I have supervised
Postdoctoral fellows
Dr Manasa Kulkarni (2025-) Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISc, Bangalore & Ben Gurion University. Reproductive trade-offs in pollinator fig wasps: linking pollination, fecundity and lifetime reproductive success. Co-supervised with Michal Segoli at Ben Gurion University
Dr Prabitha Mohan (2023-25) Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISc, Bangalore- SERB NPDF Parasitoid wasp competition and host range
(2025-present) co-supervise with Sonia Sen at TGIS on chemical ecology of plant-feeding behaviour of mosquitoes
Dr. Suvarna Kahdakkar (2023-25) Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISc, Bangalore- SERB NPDF Effects of habitat degradation on dung beetles in Sacred groves
Dr. Abhilash Nair (2013- 2016) Helsinki, Finland- Spatial population genetics of parasitoid wasps
Dr. Joanneke Reudler (2014-16) Helsinki & Kupio, Finland- Specificity of attraction by parasitoids to volatile chemicals emited by plants. (co-advised with Jarmo Holopainen)
Dr. Kristina Karlsson-Green (2012- 2014) Helsinki, Finland- Multitrophic interactions between a plant, phytopathogen, herbivore and a parasitoid (with A.-L. Laine, M. Saastamoinen)
Dr. Delia Pinto Zevallos (2012) Helsinki, Finland- Emissions of herbivore-induced volatile organic compounds in Plantago lanceolata and Veronica spicata
Dr. Marcela Castelo (2005) Helsinki/Argentina. Attraction of parasitoid wasps to herbivore infested host plants (co-supervise with Juan Corely)
PhD students
Katta Abhishek Goud (2025-) Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISc, Bangalore
Aathira Pratap (2025-) Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISc, Bangalore
Ananya Kalathera (2025-) Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISc, Bangalore:
Shreya Gangwal (2023-) Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISc, Bangalore: Ecological Drivers of Parasitoid Venom Variation.
Anaswar P (2023-) Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISc, Bangalore: Community ecology of parasitoids associated with Lepidoptera on Rutaceae
Sonali (2022-) Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISc, Bangalore: Effects of grazing on a semi-arid grassland community
Camila Beraldo (2020- 2025) Helsinki, Finland- Endsymbionts in changing communities. Co-supervised with Anne Duplouy
Wolfgang Reschka (studied 2012- 2017) Helsinki, Finland- Spatial foraging behavior of a parasitoid wasp. Exited with an associate degree.
Christelle Couchoux ( Ph.D 2009-14) Helsinki, Finland- Parasitoid forgaing in a competitive environment
Katie Montovan (Ph.D 2008-13) Cornell University, USA- Cooperative behavior in bees, wasps and burglars (Subject supervisors: S. Strogatz & L. E. Jones, I was thesis supervisor)
Maaria Kankare (Ph.D 1999-04) Helsinki- Phylogeny and host associations of Cotesia parasitoids attacking checkerspot butterflies (Official supervisor: I. Hanski)
Ph.D student committees
Indian Institute of Science: Panav Balasubramanian, Jose Mathew, Abdus Shakur, Mihir Kumar, Utsav Biswas (current, not up to date)
Other Institutes in India: Yashwanth Gowda N M (current)
Newe Ya’ar Research Center, Agricultural Research Organization, Israel: Netta Salomon (current)
Cornell University: Katie Sirianni (finished 2018), Tim Luttermoser (finished 2023)
University of Helsinki: four PhD students, finished.
Masters students- IISc, and U of Helsinki before that
Paper co-authorship indicated by *
Chinmay Boyar (2025-) Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
Gauravya Mohan (2024-2026) Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
Exploring the Interaction of Ants with their Resident Trees in an Indian Savannah
Aniket Ray (2026) Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
Dynamic economic threshold modeling of stage-structured pest natural enemy dynamics
Narashiman, N.* (2023-25) Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
Reproductive strategies in Asteraceae in the context of invasion ecology and evolution
Emma Hakanen (14-17) Helsinki-The influence of mating environment on the sex of parasitoid wasp offspring
Pranoy MS (2022- ) Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISc, Bangalore: Domestication Dynamics of Poppy: A Study of Domestication Purpose, Management Intensity, and Landscape Connectivity on Plant Traits
Aapo Ahola (11- 13) Helsinki- Heritability traits associated with landscape structure in Plantago lanceolata (Co-advised with A.-L. Laine)
Peter Kullberg (10-12) Helsinki- Habitat fragmentation and plant performance (Co-advised with A.-L. Laine)
Riikka Alanen (10-12) Helsinki- Habitat fragmentation and the performance of a wind and an insect pollinated plants (Co-advised with A.-L. Laine)
Suvi Pakarinen* (10-11) Helsinki- Host-parasitoid relationship in different C. melitaearum and M. cinxia populations around the Baltic Sea (MSc, co-advised with I. Hanski)
Markku Ojanen (05- 08) Helsinki – Multitrophic level interaction between a plant, pathogen, herbivore, and parasitoid (Co- advised with A.-L. Laine)
Kaisa Torri *(05-07) Helsinki – Natural history of the marsh fritillary Melitaea athalia in Åland, Finland (MSc, Co-advised with I. Hanski)
Riikka Kaartinen* (03-06) Oulu, Finland – Within patch searching behavior of an extremely mobile parasitoid wasp, Hyposoter horticola (MSc, co-advise with S. Rytkönen)
Johanna Ehrnsten* (01-03) Helsinki- Movement and oviposition behavior of an extremely mobile parasitoid wasp, Hyposoter horticola (MSc)
Eeva Punju* (00 – 02) Helsinki- Interspecific competition between immature parasitoid wasps within host larvae (MSc)
Masters students from other universities who did MSc project in my lab
Pheba Anna Biju (2026) MSc St. Joseph’s University. COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF PLANT-LEPIDOPTERA-PARASITOID COMMUNITIES ON RUTACEAE FAMILY ACROSS VARYING LAND MANAGEMENT INTENSITIES. Co-supervised with Anaswar
Vandana P M (2025) MSc project student from Yuvaraja’s College, Mysore, Co-supervised with Prabitha Mohan. Egg parasitoid diversity and Wolbachia infection associated with wild plants at IISc.
Anton Toms (2025) Christ University, Bangalore, Co-supervised with Prabitha Mohan- Behavior of foraging egg parasitoids
Shri Avanthika (2025) MSc project student from Central University of Karnataka. Co-supervised with Anaswar P. Moths associated with wild and cultivated Rutaceae. Co-supervised with Anaswar
Rajnish Shreeraj (2024-25) MSc project student from IISER Tirupati. Co supervised with Prabitha Mohan. Effects of intraspecific competition on behavior of a Trichogramma parasitoid.
Yann Bially (2017) France (research at University of Helsinki): Mechanisms of avoiding the pitfalls of haplodiploid sex determination in the parasitoid wasp Cotesia glomerata
Marina Granger-Brown (2014) Harper Adams University, UK (research in Finland)- Analysis of of antagonistic interactions between parasitoid wasps (co-advised with W. Reschka)
Pil Rasmussen* (13-14) Copenhagen University (research in Finland)- Parasitoid-plant-phytopathogen interactions
David Muru (2012) France (research at University of Helsinki) The role of host group behavior in host-parasitoid interactions
Anne Reichgelt (07) National University of Ireland (research at University of Helsinki)- Density dependent hyperparasitism due to aggregation of adult female hyperparasitoids (MSc)
Lucie Salvaudon (02) Paris, France (research at University of Helsinki) – Experimental test of host avoidance of parasitism by Hyposoter horticola
Christian Anton (00 – 01) Jena, Germany (research at University of Helsinki) – Behavioral and developmental responses of a specialist parasitoid wasp to host larvae on two host food plant species (MSc)
Interns, undergrad researchers, student lab visitors (Some missing)
Some went on for MS degrees so are listed above instead.
Paper co-authorship indicated by *
Prankush Bansai (2023-) Indian institute of Science, Undergrad intern Co-supervised with Suvarna Khaddakkar- Morphological trait variation in dung beetles
Vanshika Pal* (2023-24) Indian institute of Science: Intern/researcher- Butterfly and parasitoid behavior
Aniket Ray (2023-25) Indian institute of Science, Undergrad senior thesis IISc
Nithinshakti, T. (2023) Undergraduate senior thesis, IISc: Literature survey of modeling foraging behavior of parasitoids under competition and where resources are ephemeral.
Aditya Nayak (2022) Undergrad intern from IISER Mohali, India (research at IISc): Finding parasitoids of Lepidoptera on Citrus, and a literature review of change in genome size associated with plant domestication.
Tom S. Kraft* (08-10) Undergraduate Honours thesis at Cornell (research at University of Helsinki)- Indirect interaction between butterflies mediated by pupal parasitoids