Morphometric Comparison Between Different Populations of Darkling Beetles “Pimilia nilotica (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)” In Egypt

Abstract

Insects include almost 60% of the described eukaryotic animals worldwide. However, the morphological measurements and assessment of the effects of isolation and habitat still lack many insect groups. The current study aimed to compare the morphometric measurements of dissimilar populations of darkling beetles “Pimelia nilotica” in Egypt. A variable comparison of morphometric variations was taken by a threaded micrometer for six different eco-geographical regions from Egypt fall under the Western Mediterranean Coastal Desert, Western Desert Oases, El-Faiyum Depression, the Eastern Desert, Nile Delta, and South Sinai. Twenty-one morphometric measurements were taken in the currents study. Traits best reminiscent of the excellence of populations were distinguished by cluster analysis, and also by the principal component analysis. The primary and second discriminants scores (score 1 and score 2) recorded 76.4% and 23.8%, respectively, of the full variation in samples. Multiple discriminant analysis disclosed clear morphometric differences between Western Desert, Eastern Desert, El-Faiyum Depression, and South Sinai populations. Traits clarifying the maximum of the changeability among populations were those associated with the morphological estimations.