Profile

Photo:

Alfonsina Arriaga Jimenez

My CV

  • Education:

    I studied all my primary and secondary education in Mexico City.

  • Qualifications:

    B.Sc.
    M.Sc.
    PhD

  • Work History:

    After finishing my master I work doing environmental impact assessments for the National oil company.

  • Current Job:

    Currently, I’m a postdoctoral fellow at the University of New England, Australia.

  • About Me:

    I’m a Mexican entomologist, I love insects especially dung beetles and bees. I love to be outdoors, hiking, climbing and discovering new places.

  • Read more

    I’m from Mexico, but after living for some years in France I get a job in Australia. As new in the country, I’m using my free time to surf and to scuba dive during the weekends. My favourite food is obviously Mexican food, when hard to find it I cook it by myself, my green enchiladas are the best. So far my favourite bird in Australia is the Kookaburra or laughing kingfisher because they sound like monkeys.

  • Read more

    I’m interested in the native dung beetles of Australia, not a lot of people know it but this country has a lot of European and African introduced dung beetles to help with cattle dung. So, the native ones are not very well studied, are super important, cute, live in amazing places and we need to know more about them.

  • My Typical Day:

    During a typical day in the field, I wake up very early (usually the birds wake me up). I walk through the forest, usually in the mountains, and found a place to put my traps. I put traps in different places and leave them there for a couple of days. I take them out and collect all the beetles in each trap.

  • Read more

    When I’m not in the office or in the lab, my favourite part is the fieldwork. My days start very early because I have to walk for several hours in the forest. I bring with me all my material for my traps and my lunch. The traps are a plastic recipient with water. Sometimes I collect the beetles alive to later bring them to the lab.

  • My Interview

    • How would you describe yourself in 3 words?

      curious, adventurous, funny

      What did you want to be after you left school?

      Biologist, always

      Were you ever in trouble at school?

      yes, I talked to much all the time

      Who is your favourite singer or band?

      any traditional music from around the world

      What's your favourite food?

      Mexican food, tacos!

      If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!

      a house with a huge garden, visit the arctic, teletransportation

      Tell us a joke.

      A dung beetle goes for fast food... Orders a Number 2

Questions answered by Alfonsina

View all Alfonsina's answered questions