UC Davis doctoral candidate Emma "Em" Jochim of the Jason Bond lab, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology will discuss trapdoor spiders at the Pacific Coast Entomological Society (PCES) meeting on Sunday, Sept. 27 at UC Davis.
The PCES members and guests will be gathering at 10:30 a.m. in the Bohart Museum of Entomology, Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane "to sort insects," announced Fran Keller, a professor at Folsom Lake College and an entomology lecturer at UC Davis.
"We will be sorting insect specimens from Diptera and Coleoptera," said Keller, who holds a master's degree (2007) and doctorate (2014) in entomology from UC Davis, studying darkling beetles with her major professor, UC Davis Distinguished Professor (now emerita) Lynn Kimsey, the Bohart Museum director for 34 years until her retirement in 2024.
"We would normally call this a 'Sort Night' at the museum, however we are starting early," Keller said. A sorting event can involve anyone who can identify flies and beetles to whatever level they feel comfortable; you don’t need to be an expert. But if you are an expert, you are also welcome to join us and we can set you up with whatever you need."
At 1 p.m., Jochim will present a public talk on speciation and species delimitation in mygalomorph spiders from California and Belize with a focus on trapdoor spiders. This will be in Room 1375 of the Academic Surge Building. Jochim's presentation is entitled: "Untangling species limits in mygalomorph spiders: Integrating genomics, morphology, and ecology across California and Belize."
Jochim, who anticipates receiving her doctorate in June of 2027, earlier delivered her presentation on speciation and species delimitation at an invited symposium at the American Arachnological Society's Early Career Arachnologists' symposium in Lincoln, Neb., in July 2026. Her abstract:
"An integrative approach to species delimitation incorporates evidence from multiple sources, e.g., genetic, morphological, ecological, behavioral, etc., and is becoming the standard in delimitation efforts. Coupled with genomic and sub-genomic datasets, these methods have facilitated the discovery of cryptic diversity across many mygalomorph taxa. If we can confidently assign species boundaries, mygalomorphs may provide a unique opportunity to investigate questions of speciation patterns as highly structured taxa often reflect geological scale climatic and landscape changes. The Aptostichus atomarius species complex comprises both inland and coastal dune inhabiting trapdoor spiders and is a prime group for employing landscape-scale genomic methods. Using whole-genome resequencing and environmental association analyses, we identify genes under selection associated with habitat-specific environmental pressures and examine patterns of adaptive divergence across contrasting habitats."
Jochim joined the UC Davis entomology graduate school program in 2020. Her major professor, Jason Bond, is the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair, Department of Entomology and Nematology; executive associate of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; and director of the Bohart Museum. In addition, he serves as president of the American Arachnological Society
Jochim received her bachelor's degree in biology, with minors in geology and chemistry, summa cum laude, in 2020 from Millsaps College, Jackson, Miss. Her honors thesis: "Species Delimitation of Vaejovis Scorpions from the Santa Catalina Mountains Using Genetic, Morphological, and Geographical Data."
Jochim is the lead author of "Speciation Pattern and Process in the California Coastal Dune Endemic Trapdoor Spider Aptostichus simus (Mygalomorphae: Euctenizidae) and Description of a New Cryptic Species, published in Ecology and Evolution in October, 2025. The scientists rearched their newly discovered species of trapdoor spider that inhabits coastal sand dunes stretching from Monterey to California Baja, Mexico. Jochim and colleagues analyzed genomic DNA from two trapdoor spiders thought to be the same species, Aptostichus simu, and discovered they are not. (See news story)
For registration and more information about the PCES meeting, contact Keller at kellerm@flc.losrios.edu
Cover image: Doctoral candidate Emma Jochim (left) and Professor Fran Keller working on field research in Belize.