Ashley Bui

2025 Scholarship Recipient

Ashley Bui is a fifth year Entomology Ph.D. candidate at UC Riverside. Ashley obtained
her B.S. degree at UC Davis in Animal Biology with a minor in Insect Biology. Ashley
became interested in entomology and systematics when she researched wolf spider
evolution in the Bond Lad and Bohart Entomological Museum. This sparked her interest
in arthropod evolution and phylogenetics which led to her joining the Heraty Lab and the
study of Chalcidoid Wasp Systematics.

Chalcidoidea is a superfamily of vastly important parasitoid wasps. Consisting of more
than 27,000 described species, there are an estimated 500,000 potential species
worldwide. While incredibly miniscule (typically ranging from 1-2 mm), they provide an
incredible benefit as natural enemies for various pest insects. Though due to their small
size, Chalcidoidea are often under-sampled and under-studied both taxonomically and
geographically.

Systematics is the field of classifying and studying the relationships of living organisms,
how organisms are related, and how organisms evolved and distributed. Ashley’s
research involves researching Chalcidoid wasps in regard to island biogeography,
particularly in two island systems: Hawai’i and the Galápagos Islands.

Her research in Hawai’i deals with a newly self-introduced parasitoid wasp, Orasema
minutissima (Eucharitidae: Chalcidoidea). Orasema minutissima, originally from
Northern South America and the Caribbean, was discovered on the big island of Hawai’i
for the first time in 2019 and has since established itself across the island. This is
potentially beneficial as O. minutissima parasitizes the highly invasive Little Fire Ant
(LFA) (Wasmannia auropunctata).

LFA is a pest both ecologically and agriculturally across Hawai’i and several other
pacific islands (e.g., the Galápagos, Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoan Islands, and others) and is
estimated to cost Hawai’i over $100 million annually. Ashley’s research plans involve
utilizing population genomics to elucidate the biogeographic path O. minutissima took to
arrive in Hawai’i and establish the foundational research for a potential biological control
program targeting LFA with this natural enemy. If O. minutissima can be used as a
biological control agent for LFA, the dependence on insecticides for LFA control,
particularly in sensitive island ecosystems, may decrease.

Funds from the Harry Scott Smith Award will be used to fund further field research in
Hawai’i, sequencing costs, salary support, and allow Ashley to present this research at
national and regional conferences.
 

Ashley's scholarship is made possible in part by these 2024 and 2025 donations

A special thanks to Dr. John Kabishima and Janet Kabashima, Dr. George Markin, Leavens Ranches LLC, Mr. Gary Veeh, Mrs. Susan Deardorff, Retha Keenan (in memory of Ray Keenan), Tognazzini Avocado Partnership, and Mrs. Claudia M. Giardina.