The Camellia weevil,
Curculio chinensis (Chevrolat, 1978), is a dominant oligophagous pest that bores into the fruit of oil-tea
Camellia. Genetic differentiation among populations in various hosts can easily occur, which hinders research on pest management. In this study, the genetic structure,
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The Camellia weevil,
Curculio chinensis (Chevrolat, 1978), is a dominant oligophagous pest that bores into the fruit of oil-tea
Camellia. Genetic differentiation among populations in various hosts can easily occur, which hinders research on pest management. In this study, the genetic structure, genetic diversity, and phylogenetic structure of local
C. chinensis populations were examined using 147 individuals (from 6 localities in Jiangxi), based on 2 mitochondrial
COI markers. Results indicated that the
C. chinensis population in Jiangxi exhibits a high haplotype diversity, especially for the populations from
Cam. meiocarpa plantations. Structural differentiation was observed between Haplogroup 1 (73 individuals from Ganzhou, Jian, and Pingxiang) in the monoculture plantations of
Cam. meiocarpa and Haplogroup 2 (75 individuals from Pingxiang and Jiujiang) in
Cam. oleifera. Two haplogroups have recently undergone a demographic expansion, and Haplogroup 1 has shown a higher number of effective migrants than Haplogroup 2. This suggests that
C. chinensis has been spreading from
Cam. meiocarpa plantations to other oil-tea
Camellia, such as
Cam. oleifera. The increased cultivation of oil-tea
Camellia in Jiangxi has contributed to a unique genetic structure within the
C. chinensis population. This has, in turn, expanded the distribution of
C. chinensis and increased migration between populations.
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