Entomology: Personnel
Entomology Faculty
Robert W. MatthewsProfessor Emeritus of Entomology Contact InformationAddress: Department of Entomology Phone: (706) 542-2311 |
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Prior to retirement I regularly taught Entomology for Teachers,
Insect Behavior, and Animal Behavior. Since retirement my teaching
activities have been mainly through involvement with the UGA
study abroad program that takes about 100 students to Australia every
Maymester (http://pacific.uga.edu/programs/australia.php)
for which I serve as academic director and teach field animal
behavior (BIOL 3720L). For a virtual tour of the Australia program
see http://eits.uga.edu/dms/ugarama/australia/index.php?c=oztalk
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| L-R Jorge González, Leif Deyrup, and David Jenkins, former post-doctoral associate and graduate students, respectively |
My research centers on insect behavior, particularly wasp behavior.
Both field and laboratory approaches, as appropriate to particular questions,
are employed. In general, the research questions of greatest interest
to me tend to be ecologically and evolutionarily oriented. An enduring
research interest is Australian wasps, and a current project focuses
on the natural history of the giant mason wasps (Abispa spp.) and their
nest associates.
A major emphasis of both my research and instructional effort
has been a commitment to working directly with K-12 teachers to empower
them to feel more competent and confident about incorporating insects
into their curriculum. My laboratory has developed new curricular materials
using insects to enhance the life science curriculum at all
levels. A major thrust has been with activities using Melittobia, small
species of parasitic wasps (called WOWBugs™), for guided inquiry
laboratory experiences. The research underpinning these activities has
led to numerous publications with graduate students and other collaborators.
For more details about WOWBugs curricular materials go to www.WOWBugs.com.
Selected Publications
WOWBugs and Related Curricular Materials Development/Insects Used in Teaching
Guinan, J. A., C. S. Beck, L. S. Blumer, and R. W. Matthews.
2005. Competition within and between species of parasitoid wasps. In: Tested
Studies for Laboratory Teaching, Volume 26 M. A. O'Donnell, (ed.).
Proceedings of the 26th Workshop/Conference of the Association for Biology
Laboratory Education (ABLE), June 8-12, 2004 pp. 213-232.
Beck, C. W.,
J. A. Guinan, L. S. Blumer, and R. W. Matthews. 2004. Exploring the
Lotka-Volterra competition with two species of parasitoid wasps. Teaching
issues and Experiments in Ecology (TIEE). Volume 2, exp. 1 (electronic
publication 20 July 2004) http://tiee.ecoed.net/vol/v2/experiments/wasps/abstract.html
Matthews,
R. W. and J. R. Matthews. 2003. Insect courtship and mate attraction.
Pp. 59 - 72. In: Exploring Animal Behavior in Laboratory and Field. B.
Ploger and K Yasukawa (eds.). Elsevier (Academic Press), NY.
Matthews, R. W. 2002. When it's new to you both. Pp. 23-25,.
In:
Learning from Cases. Unraveling the Complexities of Elementary Science Teaching. D.
J. Tippins, T. R. Koballa, Jr., and B. D. Payne (eds.). Allyn & Bacon Publishing,
Needham Heights, MA.
Guinan, J. A. and R. W. Matthews. 2001. Dispersal cues used by parasitic wasps:
phototaxis, geotaxis and mated Melittobia. Pp. 369-376 In: Tested
Studies for Laboratory Teaching, Volume 22 S. J. Karcher, (ed.). Proceedings
of the 22st Workshop/Conference of the Association for Biology Laboratory Education
(ABLE), June 4-9, 2000.
Matthews, R. W. 2000. Developing life science instructional
materials using a parasitic wasp, Melittobia digitata (Hymenoptera:
Eulophidae): A case study. Pp. 427-433 In: The Hymenoptera - Evolution, Biodiversity
and Biological Control. Austin, A. D. & Dowton, M. (eds.). CSIRO Publishing,
Melbourne.
Matthews, R. W. 1999. What's that blob of mud on the wall? Chap.
6.1, pp. 122-126 In: Biology. A Community Context. Speziale,
B. J., Leonard, W. H. & Penick, J. E. (eds.). South-Western Educational
Publishing, Cincinnati, OH.
Matthews, R. W. and N. Griffin. 1999. Let WOWBugs wow your
students! Florida Science
Teacher 13: 25-26.
Guinan, J. A., R. W. Matthews, and J. R. Matthews. 1999. Courtship reaction chains
and mate attraction: A two-part laboratory activity using WOWBugs, a new model
insect. Pp. 380-404 In: Tested Studies for Laboratory Teaching, Volume 21, S.
J. Karcher, (ed.). Proceedings of the 21st Workshop/Conference of the Association
for Biology Laboratory Education (ABLE), June 1-5, 1999.
Matthews, R.W. and J. R. Matthews. 1999. Teaching ecological concepts
with mud dauber nests. Australian Science Teachers Journal
45: 21-26.
Matthews, R. W. 1998. Teach ecological concepts with mud dauber
nests. pp. 380-381 In: Tested Studies for Laboratory Teaching.
Proceedings of the 20th Workshop/Conference of the Association for Biology
Laboratory Education (ABLE). S. J. Karcher (ed.).
Matthews, R. W. 1998. WOWBugs: Newest insect in the curriculum. Pp. 382-383
In: Tested Studies for Laboratory Teaching. Proceedings of the 20th Workshop/Conference
of the Association for Biology Laboratory Education (ABLE). S. J. Karcher
(ed.).
Pyle, E. J., R. W. Matthews, J. R. Matthews, T. R. Koballa, Jr., and L. Flage.
1998. The lady or the tiger? Insect decision-making investigations. Science
Scope 21: 12-16.
Matthews, R. W. 1997. Teaching ecological interactions
with mud dauber nests. American Biology Teacher 59:
152-158.
Matthews, R. W., L. R. Flage, and J. R. Matthews. 1997. Insects
as teaching tools in primary and secondary education. Annual Review of Entomology. 42:
269-289.
Pyle, E. J., T. R. Koballa, Jr., R. W. Matthews, and L. R. Flage. 1997. Bugs
in the laboratory: decisions, decisions.... or The lady or the tiger? Science
Activities 34: 25-30.
Matthews, R. W., T. R. Koballa, Jr., L. R. Flage, and E. J.
Pyle. 1996. WOWBugs:
New Life for Life Science. Riverview
Press, Athens, GA, 318 pp.
Flage, L. R. and R. W. Matthews. 1996. Affective and cognitive dimensions of 6th grade students involved in an open-ended inquiry laboratory 'mystery organism'. pp.
92-99, In: 1996 Invertebrates in Captivity Conf. Proc., Tucson (S.
Prchal, ed.) Sonoran Arthropod Studies Institute, Tucson, AZ.
Melittobia and related research
Matthews, R. W., J. M. González, J. R. Matthews & L. D. Deyrup. 2009.
Biology of the parasitoid, Melittobia (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae). Annual
Review of Entomology 54:251-266.
http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/eprint/MDxFwJvGkhAVP6FSWUts/full/10.1146/annurev.ento.54.110807.090440
Copeland, C. S., R. W. Matthews, J. M. Gonzalez, M. Aluja, & J. Sivinski. 2008. Wolbachia in two geographically isolated populations of Melittobia digitata Dahms (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae). Neotropical Entomology 37(6):1-8.
Matthews, R. W. & J. M. González. 2008. The acasta conundrum:
Polymorphism and synonymy in the parasitoid genus Melittobia (Hymenoptera:
Eulophidae). Zootaxa 1854: 45-54.
González, J. M., R. W. Matthews, & S. B. Vinson. 2008. Distribution
and host records of Melittobia Westwood, 1847 (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae)
from México. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad 79: 529- 531.
González, J. M. & R. W. Matthews. 2008. Female and male polymorphism
in two
species of Melittobia parasitic wasps (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae). Florida
Entomologist 91(2):162-169.
Matthews, R. W. and L. D. Deyrup. 2007. Female fighting and host competition
among four sympatric species of Melittobia (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae)
Great Lakes Entomologist
40(1-2):16-26.
Deyrup, L. D. and R. W. Matthews. 2007. Examining the relatedness of
behaviors through experimentation: Switching on and off chewing and feeding
behavior in a parasitic wasp. Journal of Ethology 25(2): 205-208.
Deyrup, L. D. and R. W. Matthews. 2007. The effect of gland secretions on escape chewing in Melittobia (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), including cross-species investigations. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 16(1): 7-10.
Deyrup, L. D., Matthews, R. W. and Deyrup, M. 2006. Feeding and siblicidal cannibalism in a male parasitic wasp (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae). Florida Entomologist 89(2): 135-140.
Deyrup, L. D., Rivers, D. B., and Matthews, R. W. 2006. Venom from the ectoparasitic wasp Melittobia digitata Dahms (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) induces paralysis and developmental delay in natural and factitious hosts. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 99(6): 1199-1205.
Deyrup, L. D., R. W. Matthews, and J. M. González. 2005.
Cooperative chewing behavior in Melittobia digitata is stimulated
by structural cues and a pheromone present in venom extracts. Journal
of Insect Behavior 18: 293-304.
González, J. G. and R. W. Matthews. 2005. An annotated
bibliography of Melittobia (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae). Carribean
Journal of Science Special Publication Number 8, 41 pp.
Silva-Torres, C. S. A., R. W. Matthews, J. R. Ruberson, and W.
J. Lewis. 2005. Olfactory cues in host finding by Melittobia digitata Dahms
(Hymenoptera: Eulophidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of
America 98(4): 595-600.
Silva-Torres, C., R. W. Matthews, J. R. Ruberson, and W. J. Lewis.
2005. Role of chemical cues and natal rearing effect in host recognition
by the parasitic wasp, Melittobia digitata. Entomological
Science 8: 355-362.
González, J. M. and R. W. Matthews. 2005. Courtship of the two
female morphs of Melittobia digitata (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae). Florida Entomologist 88(3):
258-267.
Matthews, R. W., L. D. Deyrup, and J. M. González. 2005. Increased
male sex ratio among Brachypterous progeny in Melittobia femorata,
a sib-mating parasitoid wasp (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae). Insect Science 12:
419-424.
González, J. M., J. Abe,and R. W. Matthews. 2004. Offspring
production and development in the parasitoid wasp Melittobia clavicornis (Cameron)
(Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) from Japan. Entomological Science 7: 14-19.
González, J. G. and R. W. Matthews. 2004. Species of Melittobia (Hymenoptera:Eulophidae)
established in Bahamas, Costa Rica, Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico and Trinidad. Florida Entomologist 87(4):
619-620.
González, J. M., J. B. Terán, and R. W. Matthews.
2004. Biology of Melittobia acasta (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae). Carribean Journal
of Science 40: 52-61.
Deyrup, L. D. and R. W. Matthews. 2003. Host preference
and utilization by Melittobia digitata (Hymenoptera:
Eulophidae) in relation to mating status. Journal of Entomological Science 38:
512-517.
Deyrup, L. D., M. Deyrup, and R. W. Matthews. 2003. Paralyzation
and developmental delay of a factitious host by Melittobia digitata (Hymenoptera:
Eulophidae). Journal of Entomological Science 38: 533-535.
Hartley, C.S. and R.W. Matthews. 2003. The effect of body size
on male-male combat in the parasitoid wasp Melittobia digitata Dahms
(Hymenoptera: Eulophidae).Journal
of Hymenoptera Research 12: 272-277.
Deyrup, L. D. and R. W. Matthews. 2003. A simple technique for milking the venom
of a small parasitic wasp, Melittobia digitata (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae). Toxicon 42:
217-218.
Cooperband, M. F., R. W. Matthews, and S. B. Vinson. 2003. Factors
affecting the reproductive biology of Melittobia digitata (Hymenoptera:
Eulophidae) and failure to meet the sex ratio predictions of Hamilton's
local mate competition theory. Entomologia experientia et applicata 109:
1-12.
Consoli, F. L., H. J. Williams, S. B. Vinson, R. W. Matthews, and M.
F. Cooperband. 2002. trans-Bergamotenes - the male pheromone
of the ectoparasitoid Melittobia digitata (Hymenoptera:Eulophidae). Journal
of Chemical Ecology 28: 1675-1689.
González, J. M. and R. W. Matthews. 2002. Development
and sex ratio of Melittobia australica and M. digitata (Hymenoptera:
Eulophidae) on Megachile rotundata (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae)
and Trypoxylon politum (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae). Great Lakes Entomologist 35:
85-91.
Australian wasp biology
Matthews, R. W. & J. R. Matthews. 2009. Nesting behavior of Abispa meadewaldoensis (Hymenoptera:
Vespidae: Eumenidae): Extended parental care in an Australian mason wasp. Psyche
(submitted)
Matthews, R. W. and J. R. Matthews. 2004. Biological notes on three species
of the giant Australian mason wasp, Abispa (Hymenoptera: Vespidae:
Eumeninae). Journal
of the Kansas Entomological Society 77(4): 573-583.
Matthews, R. W. and I. D. Naumann. 2002. Descriptions and biology
of nine new species of Arpactophilus (Hymenoptera:Crabronidae),
with a key to described Australian species. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 11:
101-133.
Goodisman, M. A. D., R. W. Matthews, and R. H. Crozier. 2002.
Mating and reproduction in the wasp Vespula germanica. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 51:
497-502.
Goodisman, M. A. D., R. W. Matthews, and R. H. Crozier. 2001. Hierarchical
genetic structure of the introduced wasp Vespula germanica in
Australia. Molecular
Ecology 10: 1423-1432.
Matthews, R. W. 2000. A new species of Nitela (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae;
Larrinae) from Australia with notes on the nests and prey of two species. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 9:
41-47.
Goodisman, M. A. D., R. W. Matthews, J.P. Spradbery, M. E. Carew,
and R. H. Crozier. 2000. Reproduction and recruitment in perennial colonies
of the introduced wasp Vespula germanica. Journal of Heredity 92:
346-349.
Matthews, R. W. 2000. Nesting biology of the Australian stem-nesting wasp Rhopalum bendorense Leclerq
(Hymenoptera: Crabronidae). Australian Entomologist 27: 1-4.
Matthews, R. W. 2000. Nesting biology of the stem-nesting wasp Psenulus interstitialis Cameron
(Hymenoptera: Crabronidae: Pemphredoninae) on Magnetic Island.Queensland. Australian Journal of Entomology 39:
25-28.
Matthews, R. W., M. A. D. Goodisman, A. D. Austin, and R. Bashford.
2000. The introduced English Wasp, Vespula vulgaris (L.) (Hymenoptera:Vespidae)
newly recorded invading native forests in Tasmania. Australian Journal of Entomology 39:
177-179.
Other
Matthews, J. R. and R. W. Matthews. 2008. Successful Scientific Writing.
A Step-by-Step Guide for the Biological and Medical Sciences. 3rd Ed. Cambridge
Univ. Press, Cambridge, UK, 240 pp.
González, J. M., J. Piñango, D. Blanco, and R. W. Matthews. 2005.
On the mass aggregations of Polistes versicolor (Oliver) (Hymenoptera:
Vespidae) along the Northern Cordillera of Venezuela, South America. Journal
of Hymenoptera Research 14: 15-21.
Matthews, R. W. and J. R. Matthews. 2005. Biological notes on ground-nesting
digger wasps from western Nebraska. Prairie Naturalist 37(2): 61-71.
González, J. G., R. W. Matthews, and J. R. Matthews. 2005. Comparative
development and competitive ability of Dibrachys pelos Grissell (Hymenoptera:
Pteromalidae) on various potential hosts. Florida Entomologist 88:
49-54.
Matthews, R. W. and J. M. González. 2004. Nesting biology of Zeta
argillaceum (Linnaeus) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae) in southern Florida,
U.S. Florida Entomologist 87: 37-40.
Jenkins, D. A. and R. W. Matthews. 2004. Cavity-nesting Hymenoptera in disturbed
habitats of Georgia and South Carolina: Nest architecture and seasonal occurrence. Journal
of the Kansas Entomological Society 77: 203-214.
Jenkins, D. A. and R. W. Matthews. 2003. Association of soldier beetle (Coleoptera:
Cantharidae) population decline with red imported fire ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).Journal
of Entomological Science. 38: 706-710.
Matthews, J. and B. Matthews.
2000. Consuming passions. Nature Australia 26 (11): 42-49.