Morphological and chemical comparison of males of the white grub beetle Dasylepida ishigakiensis (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) among four island populations in the Sakishima Islands of Okinawa

Abstract

Various morphological and chemical features of male white grub beetle Dasylepida ishigakiensis were compared among four island populations of Miyako, Irabu, Ishigaki, and Iriomote Islands in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Males of the Miyako and Irabu populations were significantly brighter in color and larger in size than those of the Ishigaki and Iriomote populations, although these differences were not significant within the two population groups. This was also true for male cuticular hydrocarbon compositions. The compositions were almost identical between Ishigaki and Iriomote and between Miyako and Irabu, but differed between the former and latter two populations. The overall findings suggest that the populations on Miyako and Irabu are different from those on Ishigaki and Iriomote.