Description
In the last 10 years, the use of DNA sequences for the identification and delimitation of taxa, namely DNA taxonomy, has found more and more consensus and applications in various fields. Especially after the advent of DNA barcoding, which showed the potential of using short DNA sequences for species identification, DNA taxonomy has become routinely used in many fields where the quick identification of taxa is needed. Nowadays, DNA metabarcoding is the most widely used method for performing biodiversity surveys exploiting molecular information since it allows the identification of many taxa simultaneously without the intervention of morphological taxonomists, even starting from environmental DNA. On the other hand, the molecular delimitation of species is very useful for carrying out taxonomic revisions and in the description of new species, especially when combined with morphology.
In particular, it allows the detection of cryptic species that the morphology-based approach cannot recognize. DNA taxonomy methods are particularly useful when applied to insects, where the large number of existing species and the strong expertise required for their identification and delimitation make the application of standard morphological approaches difficult. This course aims to provide the theoretical and practical basis for applying DNA taxonomy methods to insects.

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