Sibyl Rae Bucheli Assistant Professor Ph.D., The Ohio State University Office: LDB 142 Phone: (936) 294-1554 Fax: (936) 294-3940 Website: http://www.shsu.edu/~cpr003 E-mail: bucheli@shsu.edu

 

Research Interests:

Moths and butterflies are exceptional within insects in that much of their evolutionary significance relies on the biology of the immature stages. Larval moths and butterflies have a major impact on plants, constituting probably the largest lineage of phytophagous insects, and serve as important sources of food for parasitic insects, predatory arthropods, birds, lizards and small mammals. As a researcher of entomology, one of my main goals is to understand the biology of the basal or "micro" lineages of Lepidoptera. Microlepidoptera are generally small, short-lived and inconspicuous animals, historically overlooked by entomologists. However, these basal lineages represent a major portion of the lepidopteran diversity; at least 50% of the known diversity is derived from the basal microlepidopteran lineages.

Current Research:

My research focuses on the systematics of the superfamily Gelechioidea. This cosmopolitan superfamily remains poorly known; it is estimated that among gelechioid moths in the Nearctic region, only 30% have been described, with the majority of the work left to be done in North America, primarily in arid regions. If estimates are correct, Gelechioidea will rank as one of the largest and least well-understood superfamilies of Lepidoptera. I am working towards a global understanding of this large and poorly known group. My work includes descriptive and revisional taxonomic study, the use of behavioral and ecological data, and modern morphological and molecular systematics. It also concentrates on the evolution of host-plant choice. I am also interested in the spatial and temporal distributions of Gelechioidea and other microlepidoptera. The poorly studied microlepidoptera are commonly overlooked due to their small size and drab coloration, and yet collectively represent the bulk of the North American diversity. I am actively involved in several local and global biological inventories concerned with establishing baseline knowledge of the diversity of microlepidoptera, but with the idea that these data can be implemented to answer additional questions of distribution and host-plant association, and also operate as gauges of regenerated areas.

Selected Publications:

Bucheli, S.R., J.-F. Landry, and J.W. Wenzel. 2002. Cladistic Analysis of Larval Case Architecture and Implications of Host-Plant Associations for North American Coleophora (LEPIDOPTERA: COLEOPHORIDAE), Cladistics 18, 71-93.

Bucheli, S.R. and J.W. Wenzel. 2005. Gelechioidea (Insecta: Lepidoptera) systematics: A reexamination analysis using combined morphology and mitochondrial DNA data, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 35, 380-394.

Bucheli, S.R., D. Horn, and J.W. Wenzel. 2006. Biodiversity of Gelechioidea (microlepidoptera): An assessment of a re-established Appalachian forest in southern Ohio, Biodiversity and Conservation 15 (1), 503 - 516. Themed Issue: Looking after the Woof and Weft of Life: Arthropod Diversity and its Conservation.

 

Brent Rahwles, Sibyl Bucheli, Alan Archambeault collecting insects in the desert at night. Portal, AZ.

 

Putting out a bucket trap. Portal AZ.

 

Rekha Ragavendra, Alan Archambeault, Melissa Sisson. North American Forensic Entomology Conference 2009. Miami, FL.

 

Natalie Lindren, Melissa Sisson, Rekha Ragavendra, Sibyl Bucheli, Jeff Kelly, and Alan Archambeault. North American Forensic Entomology Conference 2009. Miami, FL.