D3464: PACH-ed with species: Parsing a cryptic species complex (Hemiptera: Psylloidea: Pachypsylla)

Many insect species within known higher taxa remain undiscovered because they form cryptic species complexes, i.e., groups of closely related species that are difficult to distinguish from each other based on morphology. One such complex exists within the psyllid genus, Pachypsylla. Pachypsylla psyllids mature within galls that they induce on various tissues of hackberry (Celtis spp.). Previous studies of differences in morphology and allozymes suggested that galls on twigs, buds, and petioles, as well as an inquiline form, represent distinct species. Species-level status of individuals that form galls on the leaf blade remain unconfirmed. We hypothesize that the variety of gall shapes formed on leaves correspond to different, unverified species. In this study, we use ultra-conserved elements to reconstruct a phylogeny and test for species-level divergences between samples from different gall forms.