Using Combined-Evidence Phylogenetics to Inform a Revised Classification of Spittlebugs (Insecta: Hemiptera: Cercopoidea)

昆虫超科（通常被称为吐痰虫）是一组植物食性昆虫，在大多数陆地生态系统中无处不在。在世界范围内，吐痰虫对甘蔗、玉米、水稻和改良牧草等禾草作物造成了严重的经济损失，导致受感染地区的农业产量减少高达70%。尽管如此，这种昆虫的进化史实际上是未知的。该项目代表了对口沫虫进化的大规模调查，使用了传统的比较形态学方法和现代DNA测序技术。该项目的结果将包括重建主要吐痰虫谱系之间的进化关系，解释全球吐痰虫地理分布和寄主植物关系的观察模式，以及改进的、可访问互联网的吐痰虫识别工具。通过这项研究产生的对吐痰虫进化的理解将对控制几种已知的作物害虫以及控制未来新型吐痰虫害虫的爆发具有特别重要的意义。这项工作将为整合大量关于单个吐痰虫物种的生物学和生态学的科学研究提供一个框架。待开发的鉴定工具将对研究这些昆虫的科学家以及受这些昆虫影响的农业环境中的工人具有相当大的价值。此外，通过本研究开展的尖端进化分析将为其他植物和动物群体的类似研究提供模型。该项目将为几乎所有学术水平的几名学生提供培训，增加下一代系统昆虫学专家。

The insect superfamily Cercopoidea (commonly called spittlebugs) is a group of plant-feeding insects found ubiquitously in most terrestrial ecosystems. Worldwide, spittlebugs inflict heavy economic damage on grass crops such as sugar cane, corn, rice, and improved pasture grasses, causing up to 70% reduction in agricultural yields in infested areas. Despite this importance, the evolutionary history of this insect group is virtually unknown. This project represents a large-scale investigation into the evolution of spittlebugs using both traditional comparative morphological methods and modern DNA sequencing technology. The results of this project will include a reconstruction of evolutionary relationships among the major lineages of spittlebugs, interpretations of observed patterns of worldwide spittlebug geographical distribution and hostplant affiliations, and improved, internet-accessible tools for spittlebug identification.The understanding of spittlebug evolution generated by this research will be of particular importance to the control of several known crop pests, as well as for the control of future outbreaks of novel spittlebug pests. This work will provide a framework for integrating the considerable number of scientific studies that have been conducted on the biology and ecology of individual spittlebug species. The identification tools to be developed will be of considerable value to scientists studying these insects, as well as workers in agriculture environments affected by these insects. Additionally, the cutting-edge evolutionary analyses carried out through this research will serve as a model for similar studies on other plant and animal groups. This project will provide training for several students at virtually all academic levels, adding to the next generation of experts in systematic entomology.