My research focuses on diagnostics, systematics, and ecological associations of insect "dark taxa", especially the highly abundant and speciose Platygastrinae, parasitoids of gall midges (Cecidomyiidae). Through integrative taxonomic methods, I connect natural history collections to applied problems in agriculture, biogeography, and biodiversity loss.
Keywords
Micro-Hymenoptera; parasitoid wasps; galls; digitization; taxonomy; biological control
Researchinterest
Microscopic wasps and flies live all around us and play important roles in our ecosystems, but we still know very little about them, even in well-studied regions like western Europe.
Gall midges (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) are evidently the most diverse group of animals on Earth, with estimates of over one million species worldwide. Their parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae) are similarly dominant, although the actual number of species remains unknown. Besides comprising a disproportionate share of terrestrial biodiversity, Cecidomyiidae and Platygastridae are relevant to food production and biosecurity. Many herbivorous cecidomyiid species attack cultivated plants or invasive weeds, while predatory cecidomyiids control aphids and mites. Naturally, parasitoids influence these effects.
However, our understanding of such impressive megadiversity, including implications for nature conservation and sustainable food production, is hindered by severe taxonomic and ecological impediments. Both Cecidomyiidae and Platygastridae are “dark taxa”, whose identities and lifestyles are often obscured by a history of confusion and neglect. Superficial descriptions abound, while functional diagnoses are scarce. Most species have no host records, and of the records that exist, many are unvouchered and unverified. As we face the environmental challenges of the 21st century, it is critical that we develop the ability to recognize which species are in danger and how their ecosystem services contribute to, and are affected by, human activity.
Currenttopics
- Reclassification and phylogeny of world Platygastrinae
- Key to the world genera of Platygastridae
- Parasitoid diagnostics for soybean and wheat agroecosytems
- Understanding parasitoid decline and extinction in the Anthropocene
- Documenting “dark taxa” biodiversity in the Netherlands
- Digitizing type material of Platygastroidea, read more
Keypublications
- Awad, J., Reinisch, R., Moser, M., Vasilița, C., Krogmann, L. 2025. Untangling host specialization in a “double dark taxa” system. Annals of the Entomological Society of America: saaf003. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/aesa/saaf003
- Awad, J., Tortorici, F., Talamas, E.J. 2024. Case 3880 – Platygaster Latreille, 1809 (Insecta, Hymenoptera, Platygastridae): proposed conservation of current usage by designation of a neotype for Scelio ruficornis Latreille, 1805. Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 81(1): 68–73. http://dx.doi.org/10.21805/bzn.v81.a009
- Moore, M.R., Talamas, E.J., Bremer, J.S., McGathey, N., Fulton, J.C., Lahey, Z., Awad, J., Roberts, C.G., Combee, L.A. 2023. Mining biodiversity databases establishes a global baseline of cosmopolitan Insecta mOTUs: A case study on Platygastroidea (Hymenoptera) with consequences for biological control programs. Neobiota 88(2): 169–210. http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.88.106326
- Awad, J., Krogmann L., Talamas, E.J. 2023. Taxonomic history and review of the Förster genera of Platygastridae (Hymenoptera, Platygastroidea). European Journal of Taxonomy 875: 1–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2023.875.2137
- Awad, J., Krogmann, L., Talamas, E.J. 2023. Illuminating a dark taxon: Revision of European Trichacis Förster reveals a glut of synonyms. Zootaxa 5278(3): 563–577. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5278.3.8
- Melotto, G., Awad, J., Talamas, E.J., Koch, R.L., Lindsey, A.R.I. 2023. Synopeas maximum Awad & Talamas (Hymenoptera, Platygastridae): A new species of parasitoid associated with soybean gall midge, Resseliella maxima Gagné (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae). Journal of Hymenoptera Research 96: 181–205. http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/jhr.96.102865
- Mertz, A.K., Awad, J., Wendt, I., Dalitz, C., Krogmann, L. 2022. Curation and digitization of insect galls in the collection of the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart. Integrative Systematics 5(2): 193–202. http://dx.doi.org/10.18476/2022.491606
- Awad, J., Bremer, J.S., Butterill, P.T., Moore, M.R., Talamas, E.J. 2021. A taxonomic treatment of Synopeas Förster (Platygastridae, Platygastrinae) from the island of New Guinea. In: Lahey, Z., Talamas E. (Eds) Advances in the Systematics of Platygastroidea III. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 87: 5–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/jhr.87.65563
- Awad, J., Vasilița, C., Krogmann, L. 2021. The rare beetle egg parasitoid Platystasius transversus (Thomson) (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae: Sceliotrachelinae), a new genus and species record for Germany. Insecta Mundi 0886: 1–5. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/insectamundi/1380/
- Awad, J., Hodges, A., Hight, S. Srivastava, M., Howe, A., Rohrig, E. 2019. Laboratory rearing and sex ratio of Apanteles opuntiarum (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a potential biocontrol agent of Cactoblastis cactorum (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). Florida Entomologist 102(1): 216–221. http://dx.doi.org/10.1653/024.102.0135