This project is also being expanded to include higher-level studies of the generic and subfamilial relationships within the halictids, utilizing both morphological and molecular data. Second, I am utilizing the tools of molecular population genetics to investigate the degree of genetic relatedness among colony mates in social groups. In the past, I used multilocus fingerprinting, but have recently begun working on microsatellite loci. In a study of a communal andrenid bee, Perdita texana, DNA fingerprinting revealed that colony mates are not close relatives. I am hoping to expand this study to include taxa that show incipient stages of social behavior, such as Evylaeus .
Morphometric studies are underway to identify the morphological precursors of male dimorphism.
B.N. In some species it takes three to tango. RFLP analysis using heterologous probes. Molecular genetic analysis of populations. A practical approach. Mitochondrial DNA differentiation between two cryptic Halictus species.