Wing Morphometry Helps Diagnose Cryptic Species and Resurrect Mindarus pinicolus (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

Wing venation, two-dimensional and with easily recognized reference points at vein junctions, presents an opportunity for the development of automated insect identiÞcation. Using a suite of continuous characters, I investigated the use of wing morphometry for computerized insect identiÞcation of cryptic species of the aphid genusMindarus. A priori groups were determined using cytochrome oxidase 1 DNA barcodes. Discriminant function analysis of 24 wing measurements consistently grouped individuals of unknown taxonomic afÞnity with the correct a priori groups. The results suggest that diagnostic signal is present in wing morphometry, but the signal is considerably strongerwith the addition ofmorphometry fromother aphid appendages, namely, 10 leg and antennal segments.Almost allMindaruscollected ineasternNorthAmericahavebeendeterminedas thebalsam twig aphid,Mindarus abietinus Koch (Hemiptera: Aphididae), but molecular diagnostics reveals that thePalearctic species is notpresent in theWesternHemisphere.SchizoneurapinicolaThomashasbeen considered a North American synonym ofM. abietinus. Morphometric discriminant function analysis suggests that theAbies-feeding eastern North American population isM. pinicolus. The species is here reinstated with a new combination and redescribed.