Geographical Ecocline Polymorphism of the Distribution of Mitochondrial Haplotypes of Adalia bipunctata Linnaeus, 1758 (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) of Norway

Abstract

Adalia bipunctata Linnaeus, 1758 is a classical object for studying polymorphism of natural populations. Application of genetic markers significantly increased the possibilities of analysis of natural populations of ladybirds and opened the possibility of studying ecological adaptations at the genetic level. We analyze the geographical distribution of the mitochondrial haplotypes of A. bipunctata, determined on the basis of the variability of the mitochondrial cox1 gene in the natural populations of Norway. Two new mitochondrial haplotypes of A. bipunctata are described. We observe a geographical cline in the haplotypes frequencies from south to north. The main haplotype H1 of the central Europe is gradually replaced in the north by the haplotype H7. A possible reason for the observed geographical cline is a selective advantage of beetles with haplotype H7 in areas with a northern coastal climate.