@article {155514, title = {DNA barcodes narrow down the possible sources of introductions of an invasive banana skipper, Erionota torus Evans (Lepidoptera, Hesperiidae)}, journal = {CABI Agriculture and Bioscience}, volume = {6}, year = {2025}, month = {27 February 2025}, abstract = {

The banana skipper,\ Erionota torus\ Evans (Lepidoptera, Hesperiidae, Hesperiinae, Erionotini) is a South-east Asian pest of banana that, in the last 60 years, has spread to the southern Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, India, Sri Lanka, Mauritius and La R{\'e}union, and potentially threatens Africa and Tropical America. A partial library of DNA barcodes from the indigenous and introduced ranges was built. Based on our analysis, the indigenous populations can be divided into an {\textquoteleft}East{\textquoteright} group, in China and Vietnam, and a {\textquoteleft}West{\textquoteright} group in India, Nepal, Myanmar and west Malaysia. Further, within the {\textquoteleft}West{\textquoteright} group, there is a coherent {\textquoteleft}Malaysia{\textquoteright} subgroup from west Malaysia. Introduced populations in south India, La R{\'e}union and Taiwan showed almost no variation in barcodes, suggesting they are each based on a single homogenous introduction. We conclude that the introduced populations in Taiwan and Japan match the {\textquoteleft}East{\textquoteright} group, the introduced populations in Mauritius and La R{\'e}union match the {\textquoteleft}Malaysia{\textquoteright} subgroup and the introduced population in south India matches the {\textquoteleft}West{\textquoteright} group. These results are discussed in the context of existing ideas regarding the source of each introduction, and the implications in terms of pathways of entry.

}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1079/ab.2025.0016}, url = {https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/ab.2025.0016}, author = {Matthew J.W. Cock and Alan G. Buddie and Giovanni Cafa and Hideyuki Chiba and Athulya Girish Kizhakke and Hsu Yu-Feng and Krushnamegh Kunte} }