Now I am most interested in the most diverse insect group in the world, namely parasitic wasps. These animals live by killing other insects. Their life strategy entails an “arms race” between host and parasite. Evolution has meant that this “arms race” triggers adaptations in anatomy and strategies to pass on the generations of the species, which in turn gives rise to enormous diversity in the species. This is really exciting! In addition, few people have worked with these groups in Norway, so it is “easy” to make new discoveries. In the landfill at Sandbekk I have found several species that are new discoveries in Norwegian fauna.

Sandbekk represents many environments and has great diversity overall. Across the river from there Velferden is located there are beautiful, warm slopes with deciduous trees and a rich flora with many flowering plants. As we move upwards towards the landfill area itself, this changes radically.

The landfill is an extreme environment in many ways, it is a mono-landscape consisting of sand grains of one grain size, that is, a uniform sand. The sand itself is nutrient-poor and unstable, which makes it difficult for plants to establish themselves. About 40 years ago, several different tree species were planted in the landfill to prevent sand drift. There are now only a few plant species here, and those are the ones that have survived the planting. At the same time, the areas around the landfill itself are relatively undisturbed after the operation at Sandbekk was shut down. In this borderland, the diversity of different plants is far greater.