Unmasking the Nymph: Taxonomic Delimitation of Pygolampis foeda Stål, 1859 Revealed through Mitochondrial COI Barcoding and Cybertaxonomy
V.M. Sathish Kumar *
Gangetic Plains Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Patna, Bihar – 800026, India.
M. E. Hassan
Gangetic Plains Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Patna, Bihar – 800026, India.
Manish Chandra Patel
Gangetic Plains Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Patna, Bihar – 800026, India.
Rahul Kumar
Gangetic Plains Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Patna, Bihar – 800026, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Pygolampis foeda, an assassin bug, is a good biological pest control species was recorded from Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary, Bihar. In spite of its ecological significance, the taxonomic status of this organism has been confused by morphological indeterminacy, to carry out morphology-based identification especially at early life developmental stages such as the nymphs. This article explores the use of DNA barcoding and cybertaxonomy in refining the identification of P. foeda, in agroecosystems by considering the economic value. By combining cybertaxonomy with molecular tools such as COI Barcoding and Phylogenetic Analysis, we explore P. foeda’s evolutionary identity from nymphal life stages and advocate its consideration in sustainable pest management programmes.
Keywords: Pygolampis foeda, reduviidae, hemiptera, COI barcoding, phylogenetic analysis, cybertaxonomy