Phylogeny of raspberry beetles and other Byturidae (Coleoptera)

Nuclear ribosomal ITS2 and mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase DNA sequences were analysed from the Byturidae (Coleoptera), which includes the raspberry beetles. The secondary structure of ITS2 was plotted and interspecific changes analysed. Evidence for selection on simple sequence repeats within the ITS2 was found. Phylogenetic trees based on the mitochondrial and ribosomal sequences were compared. They were in parity, indicating they reflect the true evolutionary histories of these insects. There was no evidence for hybridization in the populations surveyed, but there was evidence that the American raspberry beetle, Byturus unicolor, is divided into at least three distinct groupings. Despite sharing a related host, the raspberry pests from America were not the most related to the European raspberry beetle. Instead, links between Byturus affinis from Japan and the American raspberry beetle suggest that this lineage originated in Asia and colonized the Western USA.