Tseng Shu-Ping, Nelson Lori J, Hubble Casey W, Sutherland Andrew M, Haverty Michael I, Lee Chow-Yang
Department of Entomology, University of California, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, CA 92521, USA.
USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station, 1731 Research Park Drive, Davis, CA 95618, USA.
J Econ Entomol. 2023 Dec 11;116(6):2135-2145. doi: 10.1093/jee/toad182.
Subterranean termites in the genus Reticulitermes Holmgren 1913 are among the most economically important wood-destroying pests in the western United States. Yet, there remains uncertainty regarding the taxonomy and biology of the species in this genus. The 2 species described as having distributions in this region are the western subterranean termite, Reticulitermes hesperus Banks, and the arid land subterranean termite, Reticulitermes tibialis Banks. Taxonomic studies utilizing cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profiles, agonistic behavior, flight phenology, and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) suggested that R. hesperus is a species complex comprised of 2 or more sympatric, yet reproductively isolated species. To further delineate these taxa, we examined multiple genes from samples of Reticulitermes collected in the western United States. Alates collected after recent spring and fall mating flights, as well as previously collected workers, were subjected to CHC phenotyping and DNA sequence analyses that targeted mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit II (COII), mitochondrial 16S rRNA, and nuclear Internal Transcribed Spacer 1 and 2 (ITS1 and 2). Phylogenetic analyses conducted also included published sequences of other putative western Reticulitermes species. Results suggest that at least 5 species of Reticulitermes may be present in California and that Reticulitermes in Arizona consistently group into multiple clades, including samples previously identified as R. tibialis in a sister clade. These analyses further support the species status of qualitatively different CHC phenotypes and that alates swarming in spring vs. fall are reproductively isolated species.
霍氏网翅白蚁属（Reticulitermes Holmgren，1913）的地下白蚁是美国西部经济上最重要的木材破坏害虫之一。然而，该属物种的分类学和生物学仍存在不确定性。被描述为分布在该地区的两个物种是西部地下白蚁（Reticulitermes hesperus Banks）和干旱地区地下白蚁（Reticulitermes tibialis Banks）。利用表皮碳氢化合物（CHC）谱、争斗行为、飞行物候和线粒体DNA（mtDNA）进行的分类学研究表明，西方地下白蚁是一个物种复合体，由两个或更多同域但生殖隔离的物种组成。为了进一步划分这些分类单元，我们检查了从美国西部收集的网翅白蚁样本中的多个基因。对最近春季和秋季交配飞行后收集的有翅成虫以及之前收集的工蚁进行了CHC表型分析和DNA序列分析，目标是线粒体细胞色素氧化酶亚基II（COII）、线粒体16S rRNA以及核内转录间隔区1和2（ITS1和2）。进行的系统发育分析还包括其他假定的西方网翅白蚁物种的已发表序列。结果表明，加利福尼亚州可能存在至少5种网翅白蚁，亚利桑那州的网翅白蚁始终分为多个分支，包括之前在一个姐妹分支中被鉴定为胫网翅白蚁的样本。这些分析进一步支持了定性不同的CHC表型的物种地位，以及春季与秋季分飞的有翅成虫是生殖隔离物种的观点。
