Tackling the Taxonomic Challenges in the Family Scoliidae (Insecta, Hymenoptera) Using an Integrative Approach: A Case Study from Southern China.

ABSTRACT: Species of the family Scoliidae are larval parasitoids of scarabaeoid beetles and pollinators of various plants. Despite their great importance in pest biological control and plant pollination, the taxonomy and systematics of these parasitoids are far from clear. Some species of the family are extremely morphologically similar and difficult to identify, especially in males. In this study, an integrative taxonomic approach, combining morphology and molecular data, was used to discriminate the species of Scoliidae from southern China. In total, 52 COI sequences belonging to 22 morphospecies of 9 genera in two tribes were obtained. The COI sequences worked well for the identification of all the studied species, with intraspecific genetic distances generally less than 2%, while i

SUBMITTER: Liu Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8539399 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature