Date of Award:

8-2025

Document Type:

Dissertation

Degree Name:

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department:

Biology

Committee Chair(s)

James P. Pitts

Committee

James P. Pitts

Committee

Michael Branstetter

Committee

Carol von Dohlen

Committee

Tammy Rittenour

Committee

David B. Wahl

Abstract

The diversity of life on Earth is highly skewed towards a few key groups of organisms. Parasitoid wasps are among the most species-rich yet understudied organisms on our planet. Ichneumonidae, the largest parasitoid wasp family, includes 25,000 known species out of an estimated total of 100,000, far exceeding the nearly 70,000 species of vertebrates. As parasitoids, ichneumonids lay a single egg onto or inside their hosts, and the resulting ichneumonid larva consumes its host, ultimately killing it. Most hosts are the larvae or pupae of moths, butterflies, flies, beetles, and other wasps, including many pest species injurious to agriculture and forestry. Despite their incredible species-richness and ecological importance, ichneumonids are vastly understudied. Only around one fourth of the species have been formally described. Our knowledge of their natural history is highly fragmentary and recent studies have shown that many ichneumonid groups are artificial and do not reflect evolutionary history. My dissertation research focused on advancing our knowledge of ichneumonid diversity and evolution at the generic and species levels, primarily using molecular evidence in the form of ultraconserved elements (UCEs). UCEs make for ideal molecular markers as they are highly conserved throughout the genome, informative at various evolutionary time scales, and can be sequenced from pinned specimens preserved in insect collections. I first incorporated UCEs as part of an integrative approach, along with morphology, geography, and host use, to delimit species in the Enicospilus undulatus species-group of North America, north of Mexico. Specifically, I used UCEs to infer an evolutionary tree of this species-group to test the species limits in several widespread and variable species. Second, I evaluated the existing morphology-based classification of the tribe Phaeogenini to determine if the genera represent natural groupings and to understand how key morphological characters have evolved. Finally, because many phaeogenin genera were found to be artificial, I undertook a major generic-level reclassification. This reclassification establishes a framework for further research by recircumscribing genera to conform to their evolutionary history, providing high-quality identification resources, summarizing their biology and diversity, and describing 13 new genera and 10 new species.

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