Summary: As part of a research project, "An Annotated checklist of the Psocoptera of California," I will do high-quality standardized live photography of Psocoptera & some Psocoptera specimen collection when genitalia dissection and barcoding are necessary for identification, which will also serve as the basis for my research project, "An Annotated checklist of the Psocoptera of California," as well as planned taxonomic revisions of the genera Cerobasis & Camelopsocus. I will also photograph Psylloidea (jumping plant lice) on the side. I would set up a blacklight to attract insects at night and likely use a sweep net during the day. I would only collect specimens on the UC Reserve itself, not in the adjacent State Park. Note: I am copying some of this text below from the overall project abstract. ----- For this field work, I employ a combination of high-quality live photography on standardized white backgrounds as well as specimen collection -- for example, I would anticipate collecting some specimens of poorly-studied genera (such as Cerobasis & Camelopsocus) for dissection, slide preparation & DNA barcoding to help define species limits in cryptic species groups. I anticipate a visit to the reserve could result in multiple range extensions and possibly even undescribed species, which I would describe in collaboration with Diane Young and/or E.L. Mockford. The most immediate product resulting from this research will be an annotated checklist of the Psocoptera of California, which will treat all 100+ species found in California. This work will also contributed to planned taxonomic revisions of the genera Cerobasis & Camelopsocus. ----- Simultaneously, I will also survey the Psylloidea (Hemiptera; "jumping plant lice") of the reserve, an economically-important group quite similar in appearance but different in habit. This group exhibits remarkable host-plant specificity, with the flora at the reserve hosting an array of unusual species. Documenting the presence of invasive/non-native species would be of particular interest. For this group, I focus on standardized high-quality photography, with the photos and host-plant information contributing to my ongoing work on a Field Guide to the Psylloidea of California. I will also likely incidentally photograph other insect species I encounter and upload the photos to Bugguide or iNaturalist.

Approved