Molecular and cytogenetic differentiation within the Lariophagus distinguendus (Förster, 1841) species complex (Hymenoptera, Pteromalidae)

Abstract

Several strains of the apparently well-known cosmopolitan synanthropic parasitoid of coleopteran storedproduct pests, Lariophagus distinguendus (Förster, 1841) from Western Europe, were studied using DNA sequencing and chromosomal analysis. The presence of at least two cryptic species with different COI sequences and chromosome numbers (n = 5 and 6) was supported. The species with n = 6 is associated with the drugstore beetle Stegobium paniceum (Linnaeus, 1758), whereas the other one with n = 5 mostly develops on the granary weevil Sitophilus granarius (Linnaeus, 1758). A phylogenetic study revealed that the karyotype with n = 6 represents an ancestral character state in this complex. Consequently, the chromosome set with n = 5 which is characteristic of a particular internal clade, apparently originated via chromosomal fusion which was probably preceded by a pericentric inversion. If this is true, inverted chromosome segments could accumulate a number of genetic loci responsible for certain interspecific differences.