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Personnel

The Pompilid Project is a collaborative effort between scientists at Utah State University
and a retired world authority:

	James P. Pitts , Project Leader, is a Research Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Biology at Utah State University. His research focuses on the systematics of several hymenopteran groups, including Pompilidae, Mutillidae, and Formicidae. Currently, his work includes revising the Nearctic nocturnal mutillid genera and he will soon complete a revision of Odontophotopsis. He routinely applies cladistic techniques for his revisionary studies and has recently completed a phylogenetic study of Solenopsis saevissima species-group (fire ants). In this project, Dr. Pitts is coordinating taxonomic work, developing morphological character sets, and constructing hypotheses. See Dr. Pitts's department webpage or contact him by email.
	Carol D. von Dohlen is an Associate Professor in the Dept. of Biology at Utah State University. Her research program has focused mainly on the molecular systematics of Sternorrhyncha (Hemiptera), primarily aphids, although her graduate students work on groups as diverse as Odonata, Diptera, Hymenoptera, and marine worms. She has been active in developing mitochondrial and nuclear markers for molecular phylogenetics in diverse insect lineages; her role in this project is to develop these markers for Pompilidae, lead efforts in the analysis of molecular data, and assist in the framing of phylogenetic hypotheses. See Dr. von Dohlen’s department webpage or contact her by email.
	Marius Wasbauer, Ph.D., is a world authority on Pompilidae, currently retired. Dr. Wasbauer formerly held the position of Senior Scientist (Insect Biosystematics) at the California Dept. of Food and Agriculture, Sacramento, CA. In this project, Dr. Wasbauer contributes his extensive knowledge on pompilid taxonomy, morphology, and behavior to morphological character sets and hypothesis development, and coordinates efforts to enlist the expertise of the (few) other pompilid systematists around the world. Dr. Wasbauer also maintains a large personal collection of pompilid specimens. Contact Dr. Wasbauer by email.

Students involved

 

Cecilia Waichert- Ph.D. Candidate

 

Juanita Rodriguez- Ph.D. Candidate