ELECTROPHORETIC STUDY OF 2 CLOSELY-RELATED SPECIES OF NORTH-AMERICAN TRICHOGRAMMA - T-PRETIOSUM AND T-DEION (HYMENOPTERA, TRICHOGRAMMATIDAE)

Allozymic variation was examined at 13 loci in T. pretiosum Riley an deion Pinto & Oatman, two cryptic species of North American Trichogramma. The 23 cultures of T. pretiosum and the 21 cultures of T. deion studied represent a significant portion of the known geographic range of both species. As with morphology, the electrophoretic data suggest close relationship. The only apparent fixed difference occurs at the G6pd locus. Syntopic collections from Riverside, CA, also differ at the Acp-II and Pgm loci, indicating that gene exchange is not occurring. Although considerable intraspecific variation occurs in these species, it is not obviously correlated with geographic distribution or mode of reproduction. Collections of T. pretiosum from Australia are similar to those from North America, suggesting that the species only recently was introduced to Australia.