Phylogenetic analysis of neotropical Eumenini (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Eumeninae)

• Grant number: 13/16027-5
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): November 01, 2013
• Effective date (End): November 30, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Taxonomy of Recent Groups
• Principal researcher: Fernando Barbosa Noll
• Grantee: Yuri Campanholo Grandinete
• Home Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 14/21665-3 - Revisão Taxonômica do gênero Eumenes Latreille, 1802 (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Eumeninae) do novo mundo, BE.EP.DR

Abstract

Vespidae has about 4,500 described species and six subfamilies: Euparagiinae, Stenogastrinae, Masarinae, Eumeninae, polistine and Vespinae. The family is well known due to the social species, variety of nest architecture and they are used as a model to study the evolution of social behavior. However, the most diverse but less studied subfamily is Eumeninae, with more than 3,500 species, globally distributed, in 210 genera. It is a monophyletic group, but the taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships still need more taxonomic reviews based on modern methods of phylogenetic due to the large morphological diversity that occurs within the subfamily. The objective of this project is to develop a phylogenetic hypothesis involving a clade of Eumenini, tribe proposed by Hermes et al. (in press), using morphological and molecular data, testing the monophyly of several genera included within the tribe to create a stable sort and that fosters recognition of the limits on generic categories.