Cryptic species of gall wasps (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Antistrophus rufus) specialized on prairie perennials (Asteraceae: Silphium)
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 three, and maybe four, of the plant species of the genus, S. laciniatum, S. terebinthinaceum, S. perfoliatum, and S. integrifolium. Using data from behavioral bioassays and allozyme analyses, we show that populations of these gall wasps in these species of plants are distinct with fixed differences between the populations, providing evidence that there is little if any gene flow between the populations.
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Back to The 2002 ESA Annual Meeting and Exhibition