The onion thrips (Thrips tabaci Lindeman, 1889) is a key pest of a wide range of crops because of its ecological attributes such as polyphagy, high reproduction rate, ability to transmit tospoviruses and resistance to insecticides. Recent studies revealed that T. tabaci is a cryptic species complex and it has three lineages (leek-associated arrhenotokous L1-biotype, leek-associated thelytokous L2-biotype and tobacco-associated arrhenotokous T-biotype), however, the adults remain indistinguishable. T. tabaci individuals were collected from different locations of Hungary to create laboratory colonies from each biotypes. Mitochondrial COI (mtCOI) region was sequenced from morphologically identified individuals. After sequence analysis SNPs were identified and used for CAPS marker development, which were suitable for distinguishing the three T. tabaci lineages. Genetic analysis of the T. tabaci species complex based on mtCOI gene confirmed the three well-known biotypes (L1, L2, T) and a new biotype because the new molecular evidence presented in this study suggests T-biotype of T. tabaci forming two distinct (sub)clades (T1 and T2). This genetic finding indicates that the genetic variability of T. tabaci populations is still not fully mapped. We validated our developed marker on thrips individuals from our thrips colonies. The results demonstrated that the new marker effectively identifies the different T. tabaci biotypes. We believe that our reliable genotyping method will be useful in further studies focusing on T. tabaci biotypes and in pest management by scanning the composition of sympatric T. tabaci populations.

Recent molecular studies have proved beneficial in providing taxonomic resolution within the Octopus vulgaris species complex, therefore aiding in the appropriate management of this high value global fisheries resource. This study used the mitochondrial ‘barcode of life’ gene Cytochrome Oxidase subunit I (COI) to investigate the identity of shallow-water benthic octopuses in the mid-Atlantic Ocean and their relationship to members of the Octopus vulgaris species complex. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian phylogenetic inference placed individuals collected from two tropical islands, Ascension and St Helena, into a highly supported monophyletic clade with the North Brazilian species O. insularis (BS = 81, PP = 1), extending the known distribution of O. insularis to Ascension and St Helena Islands. Octopus vulgaris and two other member species of the O. vulgaris species complex, O. tetricus and O. cf. tetricus formed a highly supported monophyletic clade (BS = 99, PP = 1). Interspecific distances between the O. mimus group (O. mimus, O. bimaculoides, O. maya and O. insularis) and the O. vulgaris species group (O. vulgaris, O. tetricus and O. cf. tetricus) ranged from 14.7–26.0%, and an estimated date of divergence suggests these groups diverged from a common ancestor between 19.0 and 40.9 million years ago.

Discrimination of particular species within the species complexes of tephritid fruit flies is a very challenging task. In this fruit-fly family, several complexes of cryptic species have been reported, including the African cryptic species complex (FAR complex). Cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) appear to be an excellent tool for chemotaxonomical discrimination of these cryptic species. In the present study, CHC profiles have been used to discriminate among three important agricultural pests from the FAR complex, Ceratitis fasciventris, Ceratitis anonae and Ceratitis rosa. Hexane body surface extracts of mature males and females were analyzed by two-dimensional gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection and differences in CHC profiles between species and sexes tested through multivariate statistics and compared with species identification by means of microsatellite markers. Quantitative as well as qualitative CHC profile differences between sexes and species are reported. The CHC profiles consisted of a mixture of linear, internally methyl-branched and mono-, di- and tri-unsaturated alkanes. Twelve compounds were pinpointed as potential chemotaxonomical markers. The present study shows that presence or absence of particular CHCs might be used in the chemical diagnosis of the FAR complex. Moreover, our results represent an important first step in the development of a useful chemotaxonomic tool for cryptic species identification of these important agricultural pests.

The South American fruit fly, Anastrepha fraterculus, is a complex of cryptic species composed of at least seven morphotypes. Some of them, such as the Peruvian and Brazilian 1 morphotypes (which include Argentinean populations), exhibit strong pre-copulatory isolation, yet it is possible to obtain heterotypic crosses when forcing copulation of adults under laboratory conditions. The cross involving Peruvian males and Argentinean females produces F1 offspring with reduced viability in terms of egg hatch. This low hatchability could be caused by a reduced amount of sperm transferred to and stored by females mated with heterotypic males, which in turn could affect their post-copulatory behaviour. To test these hypotheses, we investigated sperm transfer and female mating and remating behaviour for homotypic and heterotypic crosses between adults of two morphotypes (Brazilian 1 [Argentina] and Peruvian [Peru]) of the A. fraterculus cryptic species complex. As reported before, Argentinean males and females mated earlier in the day than the other three mating combinations. Peruvian females engaged in shorter copulation times than Argentinean females. Peruvian females tended to store smaller quantities of sperm than Argentinean females, and almost a half of the crosses involving Argentinean males and Peruvian females were unsuccessful (no sperm transfer). However, there was no evidence that the cross between Peruvian males and Argentinean females resulted in storage of a critically small amount of sperm (posing risk of sperm shortage). Argentinean females were more willing to remate than Peruvian females, irrespective of male morphotype, but latency to remating was not affected by male or female morphotype. This study shows that mating behaviour differs between some of the A. fraterculus complex morphotypes, with female but not male morphotype determining female likelihood to remate.