Using multiple lines of evidence to compare Western and Eastern populations of Pyractomena dispersa (Lampyridae)

Using multiple lines of evidence to compare Western and Eastern populations of Pyractomena dispersa (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) 

Yelena M. Pacheco¹, Gavin J. Martin¹, Marc A. Branham², Michael F. Whiting¹, Seth M. Bybee¹

1Department of Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA

2Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

Pyractomena dispersa Green is a species of Lampyridae found mainly in eastern areas of the United States but also has isolated populations in Utah, Idaho, Nevada and Western Canada.  This project is aimed to compare several western populations of P. dispersa from Idaho and Utah to those in the east using molecular tools. The goal is to determine the relationship between and among populations of P. dispersa from the West principally but also with the species from the East.

P. dispersa is a species with a large and disjunct distribution. Targeted research on the group is lacking. Our goal is to find out more about the species by gathering molecular data and examining traditional morphological characters to further our understanding of the species for both evolutionary and conservation based studies. 

Specimens were analyzed based on phylogenetic reconstructions of the fast evolving molecular markers COI, CYTb, and ITS. Looking at the genetic diversity found within these markers will provide the needed information to compare across populations of P. dispersa.  In addition to determining the relationship between western populations, the molecular data provides insight about the evolutionary patterns between western and eastern populations. The reconstructed phylogeny shows a distinct separation between the eastern and western populations collected. Morphological differences where also found, based on coloration and male genetalia. This genetic and morphological data suggest that these populations are not the same species. Further molecular data and morphological observations within the genus Pyractomena are needed to determine if this is an undescribed species.