Hello everyone, my name is Charles Davis, and I am one of the newest members of the Frost Museum! I am a first year PhD student advised by Dr. Andy Deans studying the systematics and taxonomy of gall wasps in the family Cynipidae. For my research, I am investigating the genus Diastrophus within the Tribe Diastrophini, and I want to see how species within the genus are related and resolve their taxonomy using a combination of morphological and phylogenetic methods.

Diastrophus is a genus of gall wasps which are a group of wasps that induce tumor like growths on plants. Diastrophus targets plants within the family Rosaceae, specifically plants in the genera: Rubus, Potentilla, Fragariae, and Tridophyllum. Unlike the gall wasps within their sister Tribe Cynipini, not much work has been done with the group, so the status of their taxonomy is unclear. While the galls may look simple compared to their oak galling counter parts, the wasps themselves exhibit interesting behaviors such as some species such as Diastrophus nebulous communally oviposit on stems leading to galls with offspring of multiple parents.

Before Penn State, I completed my undergraduate degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Rice University in 2020 where I studied the natural enemy communities of gall wasps associated with live oaks under Dr. Scott Egan. I have also participated in an NSF REU with the university of Iowa where I worked under Dr. Andrew Forbes. During the REU, I delved deeper into the taxonomy of the parasitoids and inquilines in these ecosystems using morphology and phylogenetics.

Following graduation, I did an entomology fellowship through Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, MO. During the fellowship, my cohort and I sampled the insect biodiversity of Fort Leonard Wood in summer 2021. I created malaise traps and sampled the military base’s Hymenopteran biodiversity.

Growing up, I have always had a deep appreciation for the natural world and the museums that capture the essence of these ecosystems. I hope to continue working in museums in the future as not only a curator but also as a professor inspiring future generation of taxonomists and systematists.

When I am not in lab, I can be found training for the upcoming road bike season, or out in the field surveying the local plant fauna for galls.

You can reach out to me on social media as @cyclingcynips on Twitter, and look forward to seeing more blog posts from me in the near future. I’m excited to join the amazing group of people at the Frost, and to continue my studies in the world of gall wasps!