Re-visiting the Aphidius urticae s. str. group: re-description of Aphidius rubi Starý and A. silvaticus Starý (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Aphidiinae).
Here we tested Aphidius urticae s. str. host-associated lineages from Microlophium carnosum (Buckton), Amphorophora rubi (Kaltenbach), Macrosiphum funestum (Macchiati) and Aulacorthum vaccinii Hille Ris Lambers with the barcoding region of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene used to analyse population differences and elucidate phylogenetic relationships between the separated taxa. This molecular marker has been shown to be the most informative molecular marker in resolving species complexes in aphidiine parasitoids. Analyses of the mitochondrial sequences revealed the existence of three clearly separated mitochondrial lineages of A. urticae s. str. group associated with: i) Macrosiphum funestum and Aulacorthum vaccinii aphid hosts, ii) Microlophium carnosum and iii) Amphorophora rubi. This corresponds to the initial descriptions of A. rubi, A. silvaticus and A. urticae and their aphid host associations prior to synonymization of A. rubi and A. silvaticus with A. urticae. On the other hand, significant evolutionary distances ranging from 2.3 to 9.2% between the three mitochondrial lineages were not accompanied by clear morphological differences. Therefore, re-descriptions of A. rubi and A. silvaticus are presented, together with their morphological differentiation in a key, as well as their phylogenetic relationships and genetical differentiation.
Institute of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Studentski trg 16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia.; Email: emohamed1513@yahoo.com.
Aiman
A
Jamhour
Department of Plant Pests, Institute for Plant Protection and Environment, Banatska 33, 11080 Zemun, Serbia.; Email: milanadesancic@yahoo.co.uk.
Milana
M
Mitrović
Institute of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Studentski trg 16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia.; Email: unknown.
Andjeljko
A
Petrović
Laboratory of Aphidology, Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Branišovská 31,37005 České Budějovice, Czech Republic.; Email: stary@entu.cas.cz.
Petr
P
Starý
Institute of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Studentski trg 16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia.; Email: ztoman@bio.bg.ac.rs.
Željko
Ž
Tomanović
D000818:Animals; D001042:Aphids / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D058893:DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D013045:Species Specificity; D014863:Wasps / Q000469:parasitology*
D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV