About

Robert Puckett, Ph.D., is an associate professor and Extension entomologist in the Texas A&M University Department of Entomology. His research and extension efforts focus on urban insect pests, with a specialization in invasive social insect species such as red imported fire ants, tawny crazy ants, white-footed ants, and Formosan subterranean termites. His dissertation work addressed the ecology of introduced ant decapitating flies and their interactions with red imported fire ants, aiming to improve fire ant biocontrol. Since then, his research has involved investigations into the biology, behavior, and management of these invasive species, as well as a variety of urban insect pests including bed bugs, cockroaches, flies, and ornamental pests. Puckett has authored or co-authored numerous scientific articles and has given extensive presentations at professional meetings and scientific conferences. As a native Texan, he is dedicated to impacting the lives of people in Texas and beyond through his work in urban and structural entomology.

Research topics

• Biology
• Botany
• Genetics
• Ecology

Selected publications

• Colony and population genetic structure of the newly invasive white‐footed ant ( <i>Technomyrmex difficilis</i> ) in the United States

  Insect Science · 2025-11-12

  articleOpen access

  The invasive white-footed ant Technomyrmex difficilis has emerged as a rising pest in several regions, yet its invasion dynamics remain underexplored. This species outcompetes native ants and causes agricultural losses by tending pest insects, including aphids and mealybugs. This study provides the first integrated analysis of the species' behavioral, chemical, and genetic variation across Texas and Florida populations. Observations suggest that the recently discovered Texas population of white-footed ants originated from Florida. Microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA analyses revealed low genetic diversity in both populations, with a shared haplotype consistent with the Texas population originating from Florida. STRUCTURE analysis further supported genetic clustering between the two regions. Despite similar within-colony coefficients of relatedness for workers, the populations differed in reproductive strategy: Florida colonies showed signs of inbreeding and high inter-colony aggression, whereas Texas colonies exhibited potential localized outbreeding, low aggression, and more uniform cuticular hydrocarbon profiles. Aggression was positively correlated with chemical divergence but not with genetic differentiation. This study establishes a foundational understanding and highlights the importance of integrating multiple types of data to understand the invasion biology of Technomyrmex difficilis.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Postfire Herbicide Application Reduces Macartney Rose in Attwater's Prairie-Chicken Habitat

  Rangeland Ecology & Management · 2024-08-23

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Quit bugging me: phorid fly parasitoids affect expression of an immune gene in foraging fire ant workers

  Insectes Sociaux · 2023-08-24

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Host-parasitoid interactions are complex. A parasitoid can change its host’s behavior by direct infection or simply by its presence in the shared environment. In the red imported fire ant (RIFA, Solenopsis invicta ), workers display defensive postures to avoid potential parasitism when fire ant decapitating flies ( Pseudacteon spp.) hover above them. In addition to changes in the behavior of individual ants, RIFA colonies limit their foraging when decapitating flies are present. To further understand these interactions, we investigated the molecular basis of changes in foraging behavior at the colony level. By quantifying expression of the S. invicta foraging gene ( Sifor ), odorant binding protein 11 , and immune genes of workers of unknown infection status in colonies exposed to decapitating flies and control colonies over a 48-h period, we aimed to provide information on the molecular processes related to change in foraging behavior of RIFA. We found upregulation of an immune gene, defensin-2 , in colonies exposed to decapitating fly parasitoids. However, we did not detect significant differences in expression levels of three other genes related to immune function: abaecin, cytochrome P450 4C1-like , and hymenoptaecin. Although colonies exposed to parasitoids foraged less than control colonies (flies absent), they did not experience significant changes in Sifor , a gene correlated with worker caste performance, or odorant binding protein 11 , a gene upregulated in foragers. These results show that molecular processes associated with diminished foraging activity are set into place by the mere presence of the flies or by early stages of phorid fly infection.

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• Vertebrate and invertebrate competition for carrion in human‐impacted environments depends on abiotic factors

  Ecosphere · 2022 · 17 citations

  • Biology
  • Ecology

  Abstract Human altered landscapes have caused declines in the diversity of wildlife where behaviorally plastic species (i.e., mesocarnivores and invasive species) tend to monopolize these areas and consume predictable and readily accessible food resources, such as human food waste and carrion. Increased consumption of carrion by vertebrates and invasive invertebrate species can alter population dynamics of native necrophagous insects relying on these resources. We tested the hypothesis that vertebrate scavengers and invasive species reduce blow fly (1) ability to use carrion and (2) reproduction in human‐impacted environments in central Texas, USA, with season, habitat (field and wooded landscapes), and carrion type (species of carrion and coat color) acting synergistically. Vertebrate scavengers in this habitat, of which 75% of the documented species were mesocarnivores and obligate scavengers, consumed 100% of carrion during the winter and 62% during summer despite having low species richness (2–5 species). Of the remaining carcasses available for arthropod activity during summer, the invasive red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), monopolized 34%, and blow flies (e.g., Lucilia eximia and Chrysomya rufifacies [Diptera: Calliphoridae]) were only able to colonize 25%. Approximately 90% of carrion that was utilized by blow flies was co‐colonized by fire ants, and subsequent production of adult blow flies experienced up to a ninefold reduction in production compared with carcasses that were not scavenged by vertebrates or fire ants. Our results demonstrate oviposition resources used by blow flies in environments altered by human activity are reduced significantly by vertebrate scavengers and an invasive ant species. Future research should determine whether competitive interactions between vertebrate and invasive ant competitors for access to carrion resources have population‐level impacts to blow flies in human‐mediated ecosystems, or whether blow flies are able to shift to other resources to maintain sustainable populations and continue providing ecosystem services, such as pollination.

  PublisherDOI

• Cloning and Functional Characterization of a Double-Stranded RNA-Degrading Nuclease in the Tawny Crazy Ant (Nylanderia fulva)

  Frontiers in Physiology · 2022 · 7 citations

  • Biology
  • Genetics
  • Botany

  and other ant species.

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• Comparison of Gene Expression in the Red Imported Fire Ant, Solenopsis Invicta, in Different Temperature Conditions

  Research Square · 2021-03-01

  preprintOpen access

  Abstract The red imported fire ant (RIFA), Solenopsis invicta Buren is native to South America and is known as a global problematic invasive species. This study focused on the molecular response of RIFA by comparing gene expression profiles after exposing ants to low (10℃) and high (40℃) temperature stress and comparing to untreated controls (30℃). A total of 99,085 unigenes were obtained, of which 19,154 were annotated with gene descriptions, gene ontology terms, and metabolic pathways. 86 gene ontology (GO) functional sub-groups and 23 EggNOG terms resulted. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) with log 2 FC ≥ 10 were screened and were compared at different temperatures. We found 203, 48, and 66 specific DEGs co-regulated at 10, 20, and 40℃. Comparing transcriptome profiles for differential gene expression resulted in various DE proteins and genes, including cytochrome P450, NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1, cuticle protein and heat shock protein (HSP) which have previously been reported to be involved in cold and high temperature resistance. GO analysis revealed that antioxidant activity up-regulated under high temperature stress. We verified the RNA-seq data by qPCR on 20 up and down-regulated DEGs. These finding provide a basis for the future understanding of adaptation mechanism of RIFA and molecular mechanism underlying the response to low and high temperatures.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Comparison of gene expression in the red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) under different temperature conditions

  Scientific Reports · 2021 · 18 citations

  • Biology
  • Genetics
  • Botany

  FC ≥ 10 were screened and were compared at different temperatures. We found 203, 48, and 66 specific DEGs co-regulated at 10, 20, and 40 °C. Comparing transcriptome profiles for differential gene expression resulted in various DE genes, including cytochrome P450, NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1, cuticle protein and heat shock protein (HSP), which have previously been reported to be involved in cold and high temperature resistance. GO analysis revealed that antioxidant activity is up-regulated under high temperature stress. We verified the RNA-seq data by qPCR on 20 up- and down-regulated DEGs. These findings provide a basis for future understanding of the adaptation mechanisms of RIFA and the molecular mechanisms underlying the response to low and high temperatures.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Forensic Entomology

  Cambridge University Press eBooks · 2020-07-13

  book-chapterSenior author

  Forensic entomology is the use of arthropods as evidence in criminal or civil investigations. This field is well established within the forensic sciences with active practitioners and researchers located at many institutions throughout the world. In fact, a number of associations have been formed in recent years to serve as platforms for professional development in the field of forensic entomology.

  PublisherDOI

• Urban Entomology

  2019-11-27

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  Urban entomology is a diverse area within forensic entomology. Cases involving urban entomology often involve civil litigation due to structural damage by arthropods, contamination issues, or bodily harm within assisted living facilities or hospitals; however, cases do periodically occur where these arthropods associated with deceased, or living in some instances, people, pets, or livestock resulting in criminal investigations. This chapter provides a brief overview of some of the more significant arthropods encountered in homes and businesses that could result in litigation. Ants are distinguishable from other arthropods based on their basic morphology. They have a constricted "waist" with the presence or absence of nodules between the thorax and gaster, and they also have elbowed antennae. Cockroaches (Blattodea) are considered to be one of the oldest insect groups. Most species are not associated with human beings and their dwellings.

  PublisherDOI

• Supercolonial structure of invasive populations of the tawny crazy ant Nylanderia fulva in the US

  BMC Evolutionary Biology · 2018-12-01 · 58 citations

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: Social insects are among the most serious invasive pests in the world, particularly successful at monopolizing environmental resources to outcompete native species and achieve ecological dominance. The invasive success of some social insects is enhanced by their unicolonial structure, under which the presence of numerous queens and the lack of aggression against non-nestmates allow high worker densities, colony growth, and survival while eliminating intra-specific competition. In this study, we investigated the population genetics, colony structure and levels of aggression in the tawny crazy ant, Nylanderia fulva, which was recently introduced into the United States from South America. RESULTS: We found that this species experienced a genetic bottleneck during its invasion lowering its genetic diversity by 60%. Our results show that the introduction of N. fulva is associated with a shift in colony structure. This species exhibits a multicolonial organization in its native range, with colonies clearly separated from one another, whereas it displays a unicolonial system with no clear boundaries among nests in its invasive range. We uncovered an absence of genetic differentiation among populations across the entire invasive range, and a lack of aggressive behaviors towards conspecifics from different nests, even ones separated by several hundreds of kilometers. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, these results suggest that across its entire invasive range in the U.S.A., this species forms a single supercolony spreading more than 2000 km. In each invasive nest, we found several, up to hundreds, of reproductive queens, each being mated with a single male. The many reproductive queens per nests, together with the free movement of individuals between nests, leads to a relatedness coefficient among nestmate workers close to zero in introduced populations, calling into question the stability of this unicolonial system in which indirect fitness benefits to workers is apparently absent.

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Frequent coauthors

• Roger E. Gold

  10 shared

• Jeffery K. Tomberlin

  Texas A&M University

  4 shared

• Alejandro A. Calixto

  Cornell University

  4 shared

• Yongan Tan

  Institute of Plant Protection

  3 shared

• Marvin K. Harris

  3 shared

• C. Barr

  3 shared

• Deuk‐Soo Choi

  3 shared

• Edward L. Vargo

  Texas A&M University

  3 shared