Journal of Economic Entomology (2017) 110, 1841-1846

Manuela Oliveira Ramalho, C. Martins, T. Campos, A. Nondillo, M. Botton and O.C. Bueno (2017)
Occurrence of 15 haplotypes of Linepithema micans (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in southern Brazil
Journal of Economic Entomology 110 (4), 1841-1846
Abstract: The ant genus Linepithema is widely known, thanks to the pest species Linepithema humile (Mayr), which is easily mistaken for Linepithema micans (Forel) due to their morphological similarity. Like L. humile, L. micans is associated to the main grapevine pest in Brazil, Eurhizococcus brasiliensis (Wille), also known as ground pearl. Therefore, the present study uses mtDNA fragments to expand the knowledge of haplotype diversity and distribution of L. micans in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), to understand the genetic differences of the populations identified in this study. We identified 15 haplotypes of L. micans spread across different localities. Twelve of these haplotypes were new for the species. The high haplotype diversity uncovered in Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) for this species was predictable, as L. micans is in its native environment. Additional studies that take gene flow into account may reveal interesting aspects of diversity in these populations.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Marcos Botton, Odair Correa Bueno

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Linepithema micans		Brazil (south)