The Evolution of Parasociality and Nesting Behaviors in Pompilidae (Hymenoptera): Using Phylogenetics to Propose New Hypotheses of Behavioral Evolution

Utah State University, Logan UT

Investigators

Abstract

One of the most compelling applications of determining evolutionary relationships is to explain the evolution of complex behaviors. Spider wasps exhibit a variety of behaviors associated with nesting for which evolutionary scenarios have been postulated in the past, but never tested. Specific objectives of this project are to reconstruct and revise the higher-level classification of spider wasps, to propose new scenarios for how nesting behaviors may have evolved, and to maintain a website that organizes information on the project. Evolutionary relationships and relatedness will be estimated from morphological, behavioral, and molecular data. The results are likely to challenge existing paradigms concerning the evolution of social behaviors in general, as well as wasp nesting specifically, which will likely lend scientific rigor to, or revise, information presented in college textbooks. This study also is important because it will train undergraduate and graduate students in morphological and molecular methods, and will help transfer taxonomic information from a retired expert to younger generations of systematists. The project will also result in products that will be accessible to non-experts. The interactive keys produced will enable non-experts to identify spider wasps, while the website will be approachable to non-experts and will be a useful teaching tool from the high school to professional levels