Samantha Standring
E-mail: ssmit038(at)ucr.edu
Summer 2017 I joined the Heteropteran Systematics lab at UC Riverside to begin work on my PhD. Prior to my time at UCR I completed a Bachelor of Science in Biology at Brigham Young University August of 2017. My undergrad research within Odonata opened my eyes to the immense number of questions waiting to be answered with a study of systematics. This drove my interest towards continuing research in insect systematics. My current research focuses on using molecular and morphological data to revise the phylogeny of thread legged assassin bugs (Reduviidae: Emesinae). Thread legged assassin bugs have a variety of fascinating behaviors, with some hunting spiders by manipulating webs to lure the spiders within striking range, and other bugs stealing prey caught in spider webs. We hope that with a better understanding of the relationships between both species and closely related genera we can delve deeper into these and other fascinating behaviors.
My curriculum vitae (CV) can be viewed here. 