Molecular identification and geographical distribution of seven species of the genus Charidotella (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in Panama

Abstract

The genus Charidotella (Weise, 1896) (Chrysomelidae, Cassidinae), includes just over 100 species distributed from Canada to southern Argentina. Some species are considered agricultural pests. Many of them are extremely difficult to distinguish using morphological characters. The DNA barcode fragment, cytochrome c oxidase I (IIC) gene, was evaluated in seven Charidotella species collected at five sampling sites in Panama. The sequences were analyzed using Neighbor Joining, which produces phylogenetic trees based on genetic distances. The species studied were C. ventricosa, C. zona, C. sexpunctata, C. annexa, C. sinuata, C. ambita, C. tumida. The most common species at collection points was Charidotella sexpunctata and the closest to it according to the molecular study is C. sinuata. The species that are mostly distributed in Panama is Charidotella sexpunctata.