European Journal of Entomology (2020) 117, 490-503

Julie Leroy, Jean-David Chapelin-Viscardi, Guénaëlle Genson, Julien Haran, Éric Pierre and Jean-Claude Streito (2020)
Distinct barcodes for the Cereal leaf beetles Oulema melanopus and Oulema duftschmidi (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), two syntopical sibling species
European Journal of Entomology 117, 490-503
Abstract: Oulema melanopus (Linnaeus, 1758) and Oulema duftschmidi (Redtenbacher, 1874) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) are two native West Palaearctic species developing on various cultivated and wild grasses. Along with O. obscura they are considered to be secondary pests of cereal crops. However, local outbreaks have been recorded recently and their status as secondary pests may evolve, especially as the use of broad-spectrum insecticides is now greatly reduced. Oulema melanopus and O. duftschmidi are considered to be sibling species. They are morphologically very close and difficult to distinguish from each other, which makes it difficult to study them. We tested the reliability of the standard barcode fragment (COI) for distinguishing between these species. A total of 92 samples of the two species, covering the majority of their natural range, was sequenced for the barcode fragment and inter- and intraspecific genetic distances were estimated. Our results confirm those of Bezdek and Baselga (2015, Acta Entomol. Mus. Nat. Prag. 55: 273-304) in that this marker cannot differentiate between all the species of the Oulema melanopus complex, which in the Mediterranean basin contains several described and possibly some undescribed cryptic species. However, this marker may be useful in an agricultural context in areas where only O. melanopus and O. duftschmidi occur (such as in cereal crops in France) where it can be used to reliably and rapidly separate all stages of these two taxa and can therefore help in studying their ecology and dynamics.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Full text of article
Database assignments for author(s): Jean-Claude Streito

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
identification/taxonomy
surveys/sampling/distribution

---

Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Oulema melanopa		France
	Oulema melanopa		Spain (continental)
	Oulema duftschmidi		France
	Oulema duftschmidi		Greece
	Oulema duftschmidi		Italy
	Oulema duftschmidi		Spain (continental)
	Oulema duftschmidi		Portugal (Madeira)