Mr Zjon Coleman1

1The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

Biography:

Zjon Coleman completed a Bachelor of Advanced Science with Honours at the University of Queensland. His honours project focused on the population genetics of Macrozamia cycads. He currently works at the University of Queensland on DNA sequencing for a range of insect species, including scales.

Abstract:

Apiomorpha is a genus of gall inducing scale insect endemic to Australia and New Guinea. It currently comprises 44 described species that induce distinctive galls on Eucalyptus. Many of the morphologically defined species are actually cryptic species complexes that are relatively host-specific. Here, we investigate a species of Apiomorpha that potentially holds undiscovered species using DNA sequences, karyotypes, host-use and morphometrics.