Throughout the centuries, taxonomists endeavored to document and describe global biodiversity. Sometimes, these authors described different species based on variable characters such as coloration or overall size, and only use one or two specimens to base descriptions. This is the case for Notocyphus, a New World genus of Pompilidae (Hymenoptera) with high sexual dimorphism. Since sex-associations are nearly impossible to make without direct field observations, this has resulted in many species being described from a single female or single male. Here I attempt to use ultra-conserved element data to determine if some of the female species can be matched with male species in order to understand the true diversity of Notocyphus.
.jpg "Brenna L. Decker photo")