Lab Members
Principal Investigators
Penelope Gullan, Ph.D.
pjgullan(at)ucdavis.edu Webpage
B.Sc.
(Honours) Zoology, Monash University, Australia
Ph.D. Entomology, Monash University, Australia
Systematics
(taxonomy and phylogeny) and biology of scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccoidea),
especially soft scales, eriococcids, margarodids and mealybugs; ant-coccoid
interactions; insect-plant interactions involving sap-sucking insects,
especially gall-inducing taxa.
Peter Cranston, Ph.D.
pscranston(at)ucdavis.edu
Webpage
Schlinger Chair in Insect Systematics
Senior editor of Systematic Entomology
B.Sc. (Hons)
Biology, University of London, U.K.
Ph.D Entomology, University of London, U.K.
Systematics, ecology and biogeography of aquatic insects, particularly the Chironomidae
(non-biting midges).
Graduate Students
Scott McCLuen
srmccluen(at)ucdavis.edu
B.S. Entomology UC Davis 2009
Scott is a new MS student in the lab (started Spring 09) who is working on the phylogeny of the Tanypodinae (Chironomidae). Already he has found representatives of many genera within a 200 km radius of Davis.
Scott is funded from the Schlinger Endowment .
Nick Herold
ncherold(at)gmail.com
B.S. Biology UC Davis 2009
Nickis a new PhD student in the lab (started September 09) who is working on the phylogeny of Riethia and related Pseudochironomini (Chironomidae). The genus is diverse in Australia, and present in New Caledonia, New Zealand and Patagonia. It may form the sister group to the more restricted (northern hemisphere and parts of South America) genus Pseudochironomus.
Nick is funded by midge PEET (NSF)
Undergraduate Students
Sarah Han
sarhan(at)ucdavis.edu
B.S. Entomology major UC Davis
Sarah is lab gopher right now, picking samples, making slides, learning scientific illustration and getting a taste of the general housekeeping in a systematics lab.
Previous members of lab
Nate Hardy
nbhardy(at)gmail.com webpage, C.V.
B.S. Entomology, Cornell University
PhD. Entomology, UC Davis
My research interests are centered on the diversity and evolution of scale insects, especially felt scale (Eriococcidae) and mealybugs (Pseudococcidae).
Most of my taxonomic work has dealt with Southern Hemisphere felt-scale species, specifically species feeding on Eucalyptus, several of which induce galls,
and species on southern beech (Nothofagus), a few of which induce galls. My phylogenetic work has been focused on mealybugs and the Eucalyptus-feeding felt scales.
I am interested in the evolution and ecology of gall-inducing insects in general, as well as the problem of species-delimitation.
I have done some Podonominae (Chironomidae) phylogeny and dating work with Peter. I started as a taxonomic entomologist with the
Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries in December 2008.
Former UC Davis Lab Members
Shelah Morita, Ph.D. - Post-Doctoral Researcher in the Wiegmann Lab at North Carolina State University
Geoff Morse, Ph.D. - Faculty member at the University of San Diego
Doug Downie, Ph.D. - Professor at Rhodes University
Sophia Dimitriadis, Ph.D.
Janie Booth, M.S.
Nam Nguyen, M.S.
Danielle DuCharme, M.S.