D3224: (1st Place) Examining parasitic wasp through a malaise trap survey of Long Island, New York

The purpose of this survey is to identify species of the families Bethylidae and Dryinidae. Species of these families have extreme sexual dimorphism; scientists routinely misidentify male and female conspecifics of the same species as different species. This will be accomplished by setting up multiple malaise traps across long island and periodically separating out the desired specimens using a light microscope. Bethylidae andDryinidae both have unique morphological traits, allowing them to be distinguished by slight alone. Data for each specimen will be recorded such as the malaise trap the specimen was caught. Then the specimens be processed in the lab using whole body DNA extraction to preserve the morphology of each specimen. The Specimens will be stored incase additional DNA extractions are needed. To extract DNA the a series of buffers will be used, resulting in a pure DNA product that will barcoded using the molecular marker CO1. The barcoding results will then be analyzed and differences in DNA will be noted. Ultimately, the CO1 barcoding data of each specimen will be logged into a data base where differences in DNA can be observed, thus allowing for the identification of species.