Biljana Vidović, Tatjana Cvrković, Ivana Marić, Philipp E. Chetverikov, Massimo Cristofaro, Brian G. Rector, Radmila Petanović
Annals of the Entomological Society of America 108 (5), 922-931, (1 September 2015) https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/sav076
KEYWORDS: weed biological control, Eriophyidae, mite, morphological trait, MT-CO1
A new species of eriophyoid mite, Metaculus diplotaxi n. sp. inhabiting Diplotaxis tenuifolia (L.) DC., is described from Serbia. To investigate interspecific variability between Metaculus spp. on three different Brassicaceae host plants (viz. D. tenuifolia, Lepidium latifolium (L.), Isatis tinctoria (L.)), we analyzed phenotypic variability of morphological traits and molecular sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (MT-CO1). Discriminant analysis identified seven traits that significantly differentiate three Metaculus spp: M. lepidifolii, M. rapistri, and M. diplotaxi n. sp. Analysis of MT-CO1 sequences supported the results obtained from the analysis of morphometric features.