A Species delimitation approach to uncover cryptic species in the South American fire ant decapitating flies (Diptera: Phoridae: Pseudacteon).

ABSTRACT: South American fire ant decapitating flies in the genus Pseudacteon (Diptera: Phoridae) are potential biocontrol agents of the invasive fire ants Solenopsis invicta and S. richteri in the United States and other regions of the world due to their high host specificity and the direct and indirect damage to their host ants. Despite their importance and the fact that several flies have already been released in the US, little is known about the genetic variability and phylogenetic relationships of Pseudacteon flies parasitizing South American fire ants in the Solenopsis saevissima species-group. A species delimitation analysis was conducted using a distance-based method (ABGD) and two tree-based methods (GMYC and mPTP) using COI sequences of 103 specimens belonging to 20 of the 22 Pseudacteon s

SUBMITTER: Sanchez-Restrepo AF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7367480 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature