Dissertation Research: A Systematic Treatment of the Genus Agylla with Emphasis on the Maasseni Group (Lepidoptera : Arctiidae: Lithosiinae)

利用成体和未成熟标本的形态特征，对一个大属地衣蛾的种群进行系统的修正。该项目将包括对成人博物馆标本的进化分析，从而更清楚地了解祖先-后代的关系。在秘鲁的野外工作和饲养实验将增加我们对阿吉拉属的生态学认识。飞蛾的系统发育框架将为以后研究飞蛾及其宿主地衣的共同进化以及飞蛾交配系统的进化奠定基础。研究生Nancy Jacobson将继续这项研究，她的项目将有助于与秘鲁研究界的科学交流。

A systematic revision of a species-group within a large genus of lichen moths will be completed using morphological traits of adult and immature specimens. The project will include cladistic analysis of adult museum specimens, leading to clearer understanding of ancestor-descendant relationships. Field work and rearing experiments in Peru will add to our ecological understanding of the genus Agylla. A phylogenetic framework for the moths will set the stage for later research into the coevolution of moths and their host- lichens, and the evolution of the moths' mating system. Graduate student Nancy Jacobson will pursue this research, and her project will help in scientific exchange with the research community in Peru.