My fieldwork is on tropical social wasps (Vespidae) and I am interested in the evolution of social behavior, social selection (including sexual selection), the relationship between environmentally influenced development ("developmental plasticity"), and the genetic theory of evolution —...
I have studied insect life histories for the last 40 years. My main focus has been the transformations of moths and butterflies, especially caterpillar development, behavior and defenses, and the clues that they and their host plants can contribute to our understanding of species relationships....
My lab uses natural history observations, combined with experimental field and laboratory studies, to better understand the evolution of animal behavior in changing environments. Our research focuses primarily on weakly social bees and fungus-growing ants to understand how environmental,...
