Unravelling mummies: cryptic diversity, host specificity, trophic and coevolutionary interactions in psyllid – parasitoid food webs

Table 3 Results of morphospecies-specific multiplex PCR screening of post-emergence Cardiaspina and Spondyliaspis mummies

Host species	Emerged parasitoid species	Emerged species DNA	Psyllid DNA	Other species DNA	Informative mummies	Uninformative mummies	Detection success (%)
C. albitextura	P1	Yes	Yes	No	20	40	33
	P2 female	Yes	Yes	No	7	3	70
	P2 male	Yes	Yes	No	2	0	100
	H female	Yes	Yes	P2	20	5	80
	H male	Yes	Yes	P2	15	2	88
	HH female	Yes	Yes	No	5	5	50
	HH male	–	–	–	–	–	–
C. fiscella	P1	Yes	Yes	No	0	1	0
	P2 female	Yes	Yes	No	2	0	100
	P2 male	Yes	Yes	No	2	0	100
	H female	Yes	Yes	P2	20	7	74
	H male	Yes	Yes	P2	20	6	77
	HH female	Yes	Yes	No	8	1	89
	HH male	Yes	Yes	P1	4	0	100
C. maniformis	P1	Yes	Yes	No	2	10	17
	P2 female	Yes	Yes	P2	17	4	81
	P2 male	Yes	Yes	P2	20	3	87
	H female	–	–	–	–	–	–
	H male	–	–	–	–	–	–
	HH female	Yes	Yes	No	8	2	80
	HH male	Yes	Yes	P1	4	2	67
C. tenuitela	P1	Yes	Yes	No	8	45	15
	P2 female	–	–	–	–	–	–
	P2 male	–	–	–	–	–	–
	H female	Yes	Yes	P2	14	0	100
	H male	Yes	Yes	P2	4	2	67
	HH female	Yes	Yes	No	5	3	63
	HH male	–	–	–	–	–	–
GB Cardiaspina sp.	P1	Yes	Yes	No	20	162	11
	P2 female	Yes	Yes	No	20	5	80
	P2 male	Yes	Yes	No	20	4	83
	H female	Yes	Yes	P2	20	6	77
	H male	Yes	Yes	P2	20	6	77
	HH female	Yes	Yes	No	8	1	89
	HH male	Yes	Yes	P1	3	7	30
Spondyliaspis sp.	P1	–	–	–	–	–	–
	P2 female	Yes	Yes	No	3	6	33
	P2 male	Yes	Yes	No	4	0	100
	H female	–	–	–	–	–	–
	H male	Yes	Yes	P2	2	1	67
	HH female	Yes	Yes	No	4	1	80
	HH male	Yes	Yes	P1	2	0	100

Uninformative mummies were PCR negative for either the psyllid host or the emerging parasitoid. For P1, only a female morphotype was found across all host species. Similarly for HH of C. albitextura and C. tenuitela, only a female morphotype was found. It was therefore concluded that P1 for all host species and HH from C. albitextura and C. tenuitela were thelytokous. HH from C. albitextura and C. tenuitela is likely a cryptic species that is distinct from other HH morphospecies

ISSN: 2730-7182