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

昆虫超家族Cercopoidea（通常称为spittlebugs）是一组在大多数陆地生态系统中无处不在的植物饲养昆虫。在世界范围内，沫蝉对草作物如甘蔗、玉米、水稻和改良的牧草造成严重的经济损失，导致受影响地区的农业产量减少高达70%。尽管如此重要，这种昆虫群的进化历史几乎是未知的。该项目代表了使用传统比较形态学方法和现代DNA测序技术对唾沫虫进化的大规模调查。该项目的成果将包括重建喷沫蝉主要谱系之间的进化关系，解释观察到的世界范围内喷沫蝉地理分布和寄主植物关系模式，以及改进的、可通过互联网访问的喷沫蝉鉴定工具。以及用于控制新的沫蝉害虫的未来爆发。这项工作将提供一个框架，整合大量的科学研究，已进行的生物学和生态学的个别spittlebug物种。待开发的识别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，通过这项研究进行的尖端进化分析将作为对其他植物和动物群体进行类似研究的模型。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.