Species identification and genetic differentiation of European cavity-nesting wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae, Pompilidae, Crabronidae) inferred from DNA barcoding data

Abstract

Solitary trap-nesting wasps are prospective bioindicators of anthropogenic pressures on natural ecosystems and one of the surrogate taxa for biodiversity assessments. The implementation of these studies is taxonomy-based and relies on accurate identification of species. The identification of larval stages of cavity-nesting Hymenoptera, collected using trap-nests, is complicated or impossible before the post-hibernation hatching of adults. DNA barcoding may allow the identification of the trap-nesting Hymenoptera species immediately after collection of the trap-nests, using larvae or dead specimens as sources of DNA. Using the standard barcoding sequence, we identified 33 wasp species from the families Vespidae, Pompilidae and Crabronidae, inhabiting trap-nests in Europe. Within-species and between-species genetic distances were estimated to evaluate the differences of intraspecific and interspecific genetic diversity. Genetic distances between related species indicated an obvious “barcoding gap”. Neighbour-joining analysis revealed that groups corresponding to taxa of genus level are cohesive as well. COI barcode approach was confirmed as a valuable tool for taxonomy-based biodiversity studies of the trap-nesting Hymenoptera.

• Biodiversity
• DNA barcoding
• mitochondrial DNA
• species identification
• subunit 1 cytochrome c oxidase

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the members of the ALARM Project Field Site Network team (http://www.alarmproject.net/alarm/fsn_start.php) for their assistance, as well as to Jos Stratford for help in the drafting of the English language of the manuscript. We also thank two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on this manuscript.

Declaration of interest

Parts of the study were funded by the Lithuanian State Science and Studies Foundation (contract No T-48/09), Research Council of Lithuania (contracts MIP-115/2010 and MIP-033/2011) and EC Framework Programme 7, project SCALES (Securing the Conservation of biodiversity across Administrative Levels and spatial, temporal and Ecological Scales) (contract No 226852). A part of material for the study was collected under support of the EC Framework Programme 6, Integrated project ALARM (Assessing LArge scale environmental Risks for biodiversity with tested Methods) (contract GOCE-CT-2003-506675). The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.