Insect Systematics and Insect Social Biology
Jerry L. Cook, Associate Professor

My research focuses on two major areas: insect systematics and taxonomy and social insect biology. My systematics interest lies mainly in the understudied order Strepsiptera and the Hymenoptera family Formicidae. My social insect interests are primarily ants and termites. Some social insect species are extremely important in the functioning of natural ecosystems, while other species are among the major insect pests of man. My research includes several biological aspects of these insects. A large portion of my extramural research funding provides student wages for both graduate and undergraduate students, with the graduate students also acting as mentors for undergraduate research. My lab has historically been a mixture of graduate students and undergraduate students. REU students will develop independent research projects that focus on systematic, taxonomy or ecology of these insect groups.

For more information on this REU opportunity, please e-mail Dr. Cook at jcook@shsu.edu.