DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Systematics and evolution of the vampire moths and their fruit-piercing relatives using morphological and molecular data (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Calpinae).

佛罗里达大学获得了一个奖项，以评估吸血蛾的进化关系和进食习惯的进化。皮肤穿刺和吸血仅限于一组蛾。 十种Calyptra物种已被证明在自然或实验室条件下以血液为食;其余物种是强制性的水果穿刺者。 本研究将利用形态学和DNA数据来研究刺果蛾和吸血蛾之间的进化关系。 该研究将检验这些蛾的取食类型从果实穿刺到皮肤穿刺和吸血的方向性进展的假设，并确定口器形态是否与取食行为相关。 对昆虫行为进化的研究主要集中在交流、交配系统和社会性的进化上。 该项目将研究摄食行为的进化，这不仅在一般动物群体中研究得很差，而且可以通过将其作为一种新的和新颖的系统来使用，从而为动物行为的进化提供有价值的见解，该系统可能在独特的生态，生理和发育限制下进化。 这项研究的科学产品将包括网络可访问的原始物种描述，插图和更新的分类。 这些信息对于生理学、生态学和进化生物学的教育推广和未来的研究将是有价值的。

An award is made to the University of Florida to assess evolutionary relationships and the evolution of feeding habits in vampire moths. Skin piercing and blood feeding are restricted to a single group of moths. Ten Calyptra species have been documented feeding on blood under both natural or laboratory conditions; the remaining species are obligatory fruit piercers. This study will examine the evolutionary relationships between fruit-piercing and blood-feeding moths using morphological and DNA data. The phylogeny will test the hypothesis of a directional progression of feeding types from fruit piercing to skin piercing and blood feeding in these moths and determine whether mouthpart morphology is correlated with feeding behavior. Studies of the evolution of behavior in insects have primarily focused on the evolution of communication, mating systems and sociality. This project will examine the evolution of feeding behavior, which is not only poorly studied across animal groups in general, but could provide valuable insights into the evolution of animal behavior through its use as a new and novel system that likely evolved under unique ecological, physiological and developmental constraints. Scientific products of this study will include web-accessible original species descriptions, illustrations, and an updated classification. This information will be valuable for educational outreach and future studies in physiology, ecology, and evolutionary biology.