Biochemical systematics of the leaf mining moth family Nepticulidae (Lepidoptera). III. Allozyme variation patterns in the Ectoedemia subbimaculella group

Gel electrophoretic techniques were used to analyse patterns of variation at 12 genetic loci within and among species of the Ectoedemia subbimaculella group from western Europe. Geographically separated conspecific populations were similar to one another genetically, with the exception of E. subbimaculella where the malate dehydrogenase locus exhibited clinal variation. Genetic differences among species often concerned loci that were monomorphic or slightly polymorphic within populations. Three of the species could not be diagnosed by their allozyme content; allele distribution patterns at some loci suggest that speciation took place recently and did not involve a genetic bottleneck. Phylogenetic trees constructed from allozyme data paralleled closely the phylogeny based on morphology.