Morphometric Variation Between Meteorus laphygmae and Meteorus arizonensis1 from Durango, Mexico

A morphometric analysis of parasitoids of the genus Meteorus at three locations in Durango, Mexico was done to identify the species, because complexity in morphological identification and genetic comparison in Gene bank (R) (there is no M. arizonensis sequence with which to compare). Phenotypic variation was recorded, morphometric proportions were calculated, and phylogenetic reconstruction was done using the Bayesian inference method. Morphometric analysis allowed us to form two groups, corresponding to males and females, regardless of their body color. In addition, overlap was observed in measurements of their proportions, which indicated differences are dependent on the sex of the specimens. Regarding the COI DNAm genetic marker, the specimens from Durango, regardless of their color and color pattern, formed a single phylogenetic group, with genetic variation between 0 and 0.8%. This indicated that in Durango, only one species of parasitoids of the genus Meteorus was found, with a strong color variation that, apparently, does not respond to taxonomic or geographical differences.