We seek multiple field assistants to help research how helping may have evolved in social insects. The assistants will be working alongside a Postdoctoral researcher at a nature reserve just outside of Guildford, Surrey, UK. The fieldwork will be for ~2 months from the start of June until mid-end August 2025. Applicants must be available for at least 1 month during this time, and preference will be given to candidates available for the entire duration of the field work. A. pubescens is a solitary wasp (doesn't sting humans) and lays each egg in a separate burrow, provisioning several paralysed caterpillars for each egg. This system allows us to manipulate egg-laying and provisioning behaviour to test how helping may have evolved in Hymenoptera. The fieldwork involves: observing and manipulating provisioning and egg-laying behaviour, recording nests with video cameras and data recording/entry. The work will involve long days in the field (~10 hours) and weekend work. Experience of fieldwork and a degree/working towards a degree in a Behaviour/Evolution/Ecology-related topic are desired. Flexibility around the start and end date of the assistant position is required. The successful applicants must have enthusiasm for fieldwork, and will obtain excellent experience of cutting-edge research. Because the work involves recording colour marks on individuals, the job would not be suitable for someone who is colour-blind. See our research group website for more information about the kind of work we do (http://biosciences.exeter.ac.uk/staff/index.php?web_id=Jeremy_Field). A couple of our previous papers on this system are: (1) Field & Brace (2004). Pre-social benefits of extended parental care. Nature 428: 650-652; (2) Field et al. (2023).¯Brood parasites that care: alternative nesting tactics in a subsocial wasp. American Naturalist 202(5): 655-666. Accommodation will be provided, but assistants are required to pay for their own food/personal expenses. Assistants receive pounds 125 per week to help cover personal costs. To apply, please send a CV to Lucy Winder l.winder2@exeter.ac.uk. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK. Informal enquiries are welcome. The positions will remain open until suitable candidates are found so early application is recommended. Dr Lucy Winder (she/her) Postdoctoral Research Fellow University of Exeter www.exeter.ac.uk Stella Turk Building, Treliever Road, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE "Winder, Lucy" (to subscribe/unsubscribe the EvolDir send mail to golding@mcmaster.ca)