My research interests lie in the areas of population biology, molecular evolutionary genetics, molecular systematics, and comparative genomics, particularly as they pertain to the evolution of social insects. I use gene marker genotypic data and genomic sequences to study the distribution of genetic variation at various levels in social insect populations, for instance, among genomic regions within individuals, among individuals within colonies, among colonies, among geographic populations, and among species. These data, combined with relevant behavioral and ecological information, are then used to infer properties of the breeding biology, patterns of gene flow, and evidence of selection operating at differing scales in the study species. The ultimate objective of this work is to reconstruct patterns of evolution in wild populations and to identify the selective or other evolutionary mechanisms mediating the spread of specific social traits or promoting species diversification. I have studied various social insect species including yellowjacket wasps, tent caterpillars, and fire ants. Most of my recent work focuses on fire ants (genus Solenopsis), a group that presents many fascinating problems in population and evolutionary genetics, is readily studied in the field and laboratory, and is of great economic significance.