REVSYS: Multilevel Revision within the Praying Mantises (Insecta, Dictyoptera, Mantodea)

螳螂（Mantodea）的魅力捕食性昆虫群包括超过2，400种描述的物种，表现出令人难以置信的丰富多样性的形态和生活史策略。 尽管生态学、行为学和生理学的研究都集中在这个群体上，但螳螂在分类学上受到的关注有限，目前的分类方案并没有反映出基于遗传的进化关系。 该项目将统一传统和现代的形态学和遗传学系统方法，以重建所有螳螂的进化关系，这将指导建立一个反映真实进化群体的自然分类。 这项研究还将产生两个物种级别的分类学专著（约占螳螂多样性的21%），同时建立新的博物馆收藏，描述许多新物种，为螳螂属制作在线交互式识别键，并建立一个可供公众查阅的分类信息和科学文献参考数据库。该项目将是这些物种系统学现代化的重要第一步。常用于控制蚜虫等害虫的昆虫。该项目还将为其他昆虫群体的未来修订提供一个模型。 这项研究将通过以下方式影响更广泛的社区：1）制作螳螂及其形态学的高质量图像，在进化框架中组织，通过在线，交互式分类关键词促进社区识别; 2）每年举办一次研讨会，包括大学生，高中教师和公众，这将提供螳螂分类学，形态学和生物学方面的信息和培训; 3）在博士后，研究生和本科生水平提供新的科学培训; 4）通过提供稳定和预测性的分类，立即补充当前在螳螂性生态学，猎物识别生理学和听觉进化方面的比较研究。

The charismatic predatory insect group of praying mantises (order Mantodea) includes over 2,400 described species that exhibit an incredibly rich diversity of morphology and life history strategies. Despite the long tradition of ecological, behavioral, and physiological research focused on the group, mantises have received limited taxonomic attention and the current classification scheme does not reflect genetically based, evolutionary relationships. This project will unify traditional and modern morphological and genetically based systematic methods to reconstruct the evolutionary relationships for all praying mantises, which will guide the construction of a natural classification that reflects true evolutionary groups. This research will also produce two species-level taxonomic monographs (representing about 21% of the praying mantis diversity) while building new museum collections, describing numerous new species, producing online, interactive identification keys for mantis genera, and producing a publicly accessible database of taxonomic information and scientific literature references.This project will represent a significant first step in modernizing the systematics of these insects that are often used to control such pests as aphids. The project will also provide a model for future revisions of other insect groups. This research will impact the broader community by: 1) producing high-quality images of mantises and their morphology, organized in an evolutionary framework that will facilitate community identifications through online, interactive taxonomic keys; 2) opening annually scheduled workshops to include university students, high school teachers, and the public, which will provide information and training in praying mantis taxonomy, morphology, and biology; 3) providing new scientific training at the post-doctoral, graduate, and undergraduate student levels; and 4) immediately complementing current comparative research in mantis sexual ecology, prey recognition physiology, and auditory evolution by providing a stable and predictive classification.