REPRODUCTIVE INCOMPATIBILITY BETWEEN TWO SUBSPECIES OF COLEOMEGILLA MACULATA (COLEOPTERA: COCCINELLIDAE)
Abstract
There is interest in introducing the midwestern subspecies of Coleomegilla maculata (DeGeer), C. m. lengi Timberlake, as a biological control agent for augmentation programs in Florida. The Division of Plant Industry (DPI) of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has prohibited the release of C. m. lengi for fear that it could interbreed with the native Florida subspecies C. m. fuscilabris (Mulsant), causing genetic contamination or suppression of the C. m. fuscilabris populations. Two populations of these subspecies, fuscilabris from the southeastern USA and lengi from the midwestern USA, were crossed. Reciprocal single pair crosses were performed under controlled laboratory conditions (temperature, relative humidity and daylength) on two dates. Results demonstrated a nearly complete reproductive incompatibility between these two populations in the first generation (F1) and complete reproductive incompatibility in the second (F2). Further analysis is required to establish the cause of the reproductive incompatibility.View this article in BioOne
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