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Eur. J. Entomol. 2012, 109(3): 435444
Molecular identity of Stomaphis quercus (Hemiptera: Aphidoidea: Lachnidae) and description of a new species
DEPA L.*, MROZ E. & SZAWARYN K.
The two species of the genus Stomaphis feeding on oak and birch, respectively, although morphologically similar, are considered to be separate species. However, the birch-feeding S. betulae Mamontova is considered to be a synonym of the oak and birch feeding S. quercus (L.) by some authors. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the birch feeding and oak feeding populations attributed to S. quercus belong to the same species. The mitochondrial cytochrome-c oxidase I (COXI) and II (COXII) were used to determine whether these two populations differ. There are no significant differences in these markers from oak and birch feeding individuals, indicating that these populations are conspecific. However, morphologically and ecologically distinct populations of Stomaphis were discovered feeding on oak. The molecular analysis confirmed that these populations are distinct, which resulted in the description of the new oak-feeding species, Stomaphis wojciechowskii Depa, sp. n. This new species previously remained unrecognized due to its very cryptic mode of life.
AddressDepartment of Zoology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Silesia, Bankowa 9, 40-007 Katowice, Poland; e-mail: lukasz.depa@us.edu.pl
KeywordsHemiptera, Aphidoidea, Lachnidae, Stomaphis, COXI, COXII, molecular systematics
