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Title: Molecular and morphological evaluation of the aphid genus Hyalopterus Koch (Insecta: Hemiptera: Aphididae), with a description of a new species

Author
item LOZIER, JEFFREY - UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
item FOOTTIT, ROBERT - CANADIAN NATL COLL INSECT
item Miller, Gary
item MILLS, NICHOLAS - UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
item RODERICK, GEORGE - UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

Submitted to: Zootaxa
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/26/2007
Publication Date: 1/23/2008
Citation: Lozier, J.D., Foottit, R.G., Miller, G.L., Mills, N.J., Roderick, G.K. 2008. Molecular and morphological evaluation of the aphid genus Hyalopterus Koch (Insecta: Hemiptera: Aphididae), with a description of a new species. Zootaxa. 1688:1-19.

Interpretive Summary: The feeding damage of aphids and their ability to transmit diseases cause billions of dollars yearly to commercial plants. This research clarifies the identity of three aphid species, two that were previously misidentified and one new species based on molecular and morphometric techniques. All species are pests of plums and their relatives. This information will be used by biological control and regulatory personnel especially at ports-of-entry and will form the basis for a new species description.

Technical Abstract: Hyalopterus is a small genus containing two currently recognized species: Hyalopterus amygdali (Blanchard) and Hyalopterus pruni (Geoffroy). Morpholgical means of distinguishing these species have been difficult and identifications have often been based on host plant data rather than structural characters. Hyalopterus pruni has also been recorded as associated with a number of aphid-transmitted viruses, including plum pox virus, but H. amygdali has not. Both species host alternate between Prunus spp. and Phragmites spp. We present a systematic study of Hyalopterus using a molecular phylogeny derived from mitochondrial, endosymbiont, and nuclear DNA sequences (1,320 bp) and analysis of 16 morphometric characters. The data provides strong evidence for three species (one previously undescribed) within Hyalopterus which confirms previous analyses of host plant usage patterns and suggests the need for revision of this genus.