Neil Tsutsui standing in Woo Fai Han Hall with net draped over his back

Research Bio

Neil Tsutsui is a behavioral ecologist and evolutionary biologist whose research investigates the genetics and social organization of insect societies. His work focuses on ants, honey bees, and other eusocial insects to understand how cooperation, communication, and identity are regulated at the molecular and ecological levels.

Tsutsui is best known for his work on invasive species and nestmate recognition systems in ants, revealing how chemical cues and genetic diversity shape social behavior and ecological success. His research combines genomics, chemical ecology, and fieldwork to study how social systems evolve and adapt.

An expert in sociogenomics and insect behavior, Tsutsui is a professor in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy & Management at UC Berkeley and Curator of Entomology at the Essig Museum of Entomology. He is also active in science outreach and environmental education.

Research Expertise and Interest

insect behavior, evolutionary biology, ants, genetics, genomics, Argentine ants, kidnapper ants, chemical ecology, pheromones, urban parks, East Bay Regional Parks

In the News

Creating a New Trail to Solve an Old Problem

Ants normally distinguish friend from foe by detecting colony-specific molecules called pheromones that coat their bodies. Neil Tsutsui has identified the recognition pheromones and other chemical signals, and has shown in experiments that the ants’ behavior can be tweaked by exposing them to identical, environmentally harmless synthetic pheromones.

Bakar Fellows advance commercially promising research

In its first year, the initiative will give research innovations by six early-career UC Berkeley faculty members — including technologies to move prosthetic limbs with the power of thought and to control Argentine ants using their own pheromones — a significant boost from the lab to the market.

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