9615760 PIERCE The Miletinae, a subfamily of butterflies (Lepidoptera), currently contains many species that are predatory or parasitic. Most of these species prey on aphids, ants or scale insects, and several are used as biological control agents in different parts of the world. If the subfamily is monophyletic, then it represents the largest group of closely-related predatory and parasitic species within the Lepidoptera. In this research, Naomi Pierce will use molecular characters from both mitochondrial and nuclear genes to recontruct the phylogenetic relationships among the four tribes and thirteen genera of the Miletinae. The results should determine whether the subfamily is monophyletic, provide insight into how unusual feeding habits such as carnivory appeared among insects that, for the most part, eat plants, and why species with such unusual feeding habits have succeeded in this group of butterflies but not in others. The work will also contribute to our understanding of diversification within the butterfly family Lycaenidae, to which the Miletinae belongs.
