Monday, December 10, 2001 - 1:24 PM
0291

Host race formation in a species of gall wasp (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Antistrophus rufus) feeding on native prairie forbs (Asteraceae: Silphium)

John F. Tooker and Lawrence M. Hanks. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Entomology, 320 Morrill Hall, 505 S. Goodwin Ave, Urbana, IL

We have found that a species of gall wasp, Antistrophus rufus Gillette (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae), whose larvae feed within the stems of native prairie plants in the genus Silphium (Asteraceae), has formed host races between at least two of the plant species of the genus, S. laciniatum and S. terebinthinaceum. Using both data from allozyme and hydrocarbon analyses, we show that populations of these gall wasps in the two species of plants are distinct with fixed differences between the populations, providing evidence that there is little if any gene flow between the populations.

Species 1: Hymenoptera Cynipidae Antistrophus rufus
Keywords: speciation

The ESA 2001 Annual Meeting - 2001: An Entomological Odyssey of ESA