Species delimitation in asexual insects of economic importance: The case of black scale (Parasaissetia nigra), a cosmopolitan parthenogenetic pest scale insect.

ABSTRACT: Asexual lineages provide a challenge to species delimitation because species concepts either have little biological meaning for them or are arbitrary, since every individual is monophyletic and reproductively isolated from all other individuals. However, recognition and naming of asexual species is important to conservation and economic applications. Some scale insects are widespread and polyphagous pests of plants, and several species have been found to comprise cryptic species complexes. Parasaissetia nigra (Nietner, 1861) (Hemiptera: Coccidae) is a parthenogenetic, cosmopolitan and polyphagous pest that feeds on plant species from more than 80 families. Here, we implement multiple approaches to assess the species status of P. nigra, including coalescence-based analyses of mitochondrial

SUBMITTER: Lin YP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5411049 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature