Abstract

Genus Chrysoperla (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) contains 36 species. Chrysoperla carnea Stephens is a widespread predator in agroecosystems with great potential in biological pest control. C. carnea contains several cryptic species comprising the so-called carnea group. The species morphological similarity makes it difficult to differentiate them. Therefore, it is important to differentiate them through molecular methods. In this study, the cytochrome C subunit I (COI) gene have been partially amplified and sequenced for the same taxa of Genus Chrysoperla (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) inhabiting Jeddah and Tabouk (Saudi Arabia) in order to identify and examine their molecular diversity. The sequences (383 bp) have been manipulated by three analytical method, neighbor-joining producing. The tree topology divided, with strong statistical supports, Chrysoperla into two clusters. Jeddah samples clustered (BP = 62%) with Chrysoperla carnea Stephens while Tabouk samples clustered (BP = 64%) with Chrysoperla nipponensis Okamoto. Both pairwise genetic distances obtained from the concatenated data and amino acid substitution in COI gene supported this division.

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