Professor Department of Entomology Washington State University Pullman, Wa 99164-6382 Phone: 509-335-5180 Fax: 509-335-8529 Email:shepp@wsu.edu Departmental Web Site   Ph.D. 1986, University of Illinois RESEARCH INTERESTS: Insect Reproduction RESEARCH SUMMARY: My primary research interests are population genetics and evolution of the honey bee genus Apis. In the Old World, my research is centered on phylogeograhic studies of honey bee subspecies lineages, the speciation process and the systematics of the group. As honey bees are an introduced species in the New World, many of the molecular tools we developed have applicability to other invasive insects of agricultural significance. Thus my laboratory is also involved in research on genetic diversity and source population identification for the introduced Mediterranean fruit fly and the Colorado potato beetle. Additional projects underway in my laboratory include the establishment of a Honey Bee Germplasm and Stock Center - a USDA-funded effort that will maintain genetic material as part of a WSU-Cornell joint bee breeding and selection program, a research project to examine coevolutionary interaction in the honey bee reproductive tract (asymmetrical sperm utilization following multiple mating) and continued work on the "Africanization" process (the introgression of African-derived genes into US honey bees of European origin).   REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS: Arias MC, Sheppard WS. 2005 Phylogenetic relationships of hone bees (Hymenoptera:Apinae:Apini) inferred from nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequence data. Mil Phylogenet Ecol. 37(1):25-35. Meixner MD, McPheron BA, Silva JG, Gasparich GE, Sheppard WS. 2002 The Mediterranean fruit fly in California: evidence for multiple introductions and persistent populations based on microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA variability. Mol Ecol. 11(5):891-9. Sheppard, W.S. 2002 Diversity of Africanized honey bees in the United States and the utility of mitochondrial DNA origins. In Africanized honey bees and bee mites II. ed. by E. Erickson. Westview Press pp 60-64. Sheppard, W.S. and M..D. Meixner. Apis mellifera pomonella, a new honey bee from the Tien Shan Mountains of Central Asia. Apidologie. In Press. Sheppard, W.S. 2002. Diversity of Africanized honey bees in the United States and the utility of mitochondrial DNA origins. In Africanized honey bees and bee mites II. ed. by E. Erickson. Westview Press pp 60-64. Strange, J. P., and W. S. Sheppard. 2001. Treatment thresholds and timing for the control of Varroa destructor in honey bee colonies in Washington State. J. Econ. Entomol. In Press Sheppard, W. S, A. Shoukry and S. Kamel. 2001. Apis mellifera lamarckii: the honey bee of ancient Egypt in modern times. American Bee Journal, 141: 260-263. Sheppard, W. S. and D. R. Smith. 2000. Identification of African-derived honey bees in the Americas: A survey of methods. Ann Entomol. Soc. Amer. 93: 159-176. Meixner, M. D., M. C. Arias, W. S. Sheppard. 2000. Mitochondrial DNA polymorphisms in honey bee subspecies from Kenya. Apidologie. 31: 181-190. A.M. Collins, W.S. Sheppard, and H. Shimanuki. 2000. A scientific note on the identification of honey bee semen using a mitochondrial DNA marker. Apidologie 31: 595-596. Loper, G.R., J. Fewell, E. Erickson, W.S. Sheppard. 2000. Impact of mites on, and the introgression of Africanized bees into, a feral population of honey bees. Hoopingarner Roger and Conner, Lawrence J. (editors) Cheshire: Wicwas Press, UC pp. 47-51. Sheppard, W.S., T.E. Rinderer, L. Garnery and H. Shimanuki. 1999. Further analysis of Africanized honey bee mitochondrial DNA reveals diversity of origin. Genetics and Mol. Biol. 22:73-75. DeGrandi-Hoffman, G., J.C. Watkins, A. C. Collins, G. M. Loper, J. H. Martin, M. C. Arias and W. S. Sheppard. 1998. Queen developmental time as a factor in the Africanization of European honey bee populations (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Ann Entomol. Soc. Amer. 91: 52-58. Sinacori, A., T.E. Rinderer, V. Lancaster and W.S. Sheppard. 1998 A morphological and mitochondrial assessment of Apis mellifera from Palermo, Italy. Apidologie 29:481-492