CYTOGENETICS OF THE SIMULIUM VENUSTUMIVERECUNDUM COMPLEX (DIPTERA: SIMULIIDAE) ON THE AVALON PENINSULA, NEWFOUNDLAND

• Published in: The Canadian Entomologist
• Main Authors: McCreadie, John W., Adler, Peter H., Colbo, Murray H.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1994
• Subjects: Insect Science; Molecular Biology; Physiology; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Structural Biology; Canada; Newfoundland
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.4039/ent12623-1; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0008347X00008518

Abstract Results are presented for a 4-year (1986–1989) cytological survey of the Simulium venustum / verecundum complex on the Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland, Canada. Based on 4578 larval identifications from 72 sites, six species in the S . venustum / verecundum complex were found: S . truncatum Lundström (= S . venustum EFG/C), S . venustum CC2, S . venustum CC3, S . venustum AC(gB), S . verecundum Stone and Jamnback (= S . verecundum AA), and S . rostratum Lundström (= S . verecundum ACD). The possibility that S . venustum A/C and S . venustum Say (= S . venustum CC) exist on the Avalon Peninsula in low numbers cannot be excluded, although this is doubtful. Discoveries of EFG/C and CC2 reciprocal sex exceptions support the hypothesis that exceptional individuals are the product of crossover. Cytological results confirm the supposition that S . truncatum , S . venustum CC2, S . venustum CC3, S . venustum AC(gB), S . verecundum AA, and S . rostratum are all distinct species. Results are interpreted within the broader geographic context of the S . venustum / verecundum complex. Three new cytotypes are recognized: one, from Quebec, we place under AC(gB); the other two, from the eastern United States, fall under CC2.