Genetic Delimitation of Fall Armyworm Parasitoids Isolated in Maize in Durango, Mexico

Abstract

The fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda Smith (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is the main pest that attacks maize crops in Durango, Mexico. For its biological control, it is desired to use the parasitoids of the Braconidae family; however, its identification is quite complex due to the lack of taxonomic keys that describe the complete morphological characters or are well-defined. It is necessary to study their genetic characters to estimate the variation within populations and species. For this, DNA extraction and amplification by PCR were carried out, as well as the sequencing of a fragment of subunit I of the cytochrome c oxidase (COI) gene. In Chelonus sp., morphological variability was observed between Ch. insularis and Ch. sonorensis, their genetic distances were conspecific, indicating that they probably belong to the same lineage. In Meteorus, taxonomically two species were found that had not been reported for Durango: M. laphygmae and M. arizonensis; however, the genetic distance between these and the species reported in the Genbank® could indicate that it is a single species. These results showed the high morphological and genetic variability in these braconids, probably due to evolutionary and climatic changes.