PEET: Taxonomic Expertise in True Bugs: Systematic and Monographic Research on Assassin Bugs (Heteroptera: Reduviidae)

猎蝽（猎蝽科）是异翅目（Heteroptera）或“真蝽”（true bugs）中有魅力的成员。“有许多种类的猎蝽，它们表现出显着的多样性，不仅在他们的外观，而且在他们的行为。 许多猎蝽是有益的，因为它们吃潜在的有害昆虫。然而，一些物种以脊椎动物的血液为食，并携带恰加斯病，影响南美洲和中美洲的数百万人。不幸的是，我们不知道有多少种猎蝽存在，也没有好的方法来识别它们。 很少有分类学家研究猎蝽，这使得人们很难了解它们的进化、行为，甚至它们都生活在哪里。 该项目将组建一个国际科学家团队，对学生进行昆虫进化和分类方面的培训，特别关注猎蝽。这项研究将结合联合收割机实地考察和博物馆标本的研究，采用强有力的描述和分析方法，以及生物信息学工具的开发和使用，同时侧重于五个亚群的猎蝽。关于一组生态上非同寻常的昆虫的生物多样性信息将变得可用，同时推进对具有医学重要性和作为天敌感兴趣的物种的了解。至少有五名研究生水平的学员和五名本科生将接受雷杜维科和真正的错误的系统学培训。专著，在线工具，包括识别键，电子目录和分类学文献的数字图书馆，模式标本的图像，物种页面和记录刺客错误行为的电影将使教育工作者，生态学家，那些处理综合虫害控制的人和公众可以访问该小组。

The assassin bugs (Reduviidae) are charismatic members of the order Heteroptera or "true bugs." There are many species of assassin bugs, and they exhibit remarkable diversity, not only in the way they look but also in their behavior. Many assassin bugs are beneficial because they eat potentially harmful insects. However, some species feed on vertebrate blood and carry Chagas disease, which affects millions of people in South and Central America. Unfortunately, we do not know how many species of assassin bugs exist, nor do we have good ways to identify them. Very few taxonomists study assassin bugs, which makes it hard to know much about their evolution, behavior, or even where they all live. This project will assemble an international team of scientists to train students in the evolution and classification of insects, with a special focus on the assassin bugs. The research will combine fieldwork and studies of museum specimens with powerful descriptive and analytical approaches as well as development and use of bioinformatics tools, while focusing on five subgroups of the assassin bugs. Biodiversity information on an ecologically extraordinary group of insects will become available while advancing knowledge on species that are of medical importance and of interest as natural enemies. At least five graduate level trainees and five undergraduate students will be trained in systematics of Reduviidae and the true bugs. Monographs, online tools including identification keys, an electronic catalog and a digital library of taxonomic literature, images of type specimens, species pages, and movies documenting assassin bug behavior will make the group accessible to educators, ecologists, those dealing with integrated pest control, and the general public.