Diagnosis
Morphological – adult
Features include;
- medium sized species
- large black facial spots present
- postpronotal lobes and notopleura yellow
- scutum red-brown with or without fuscous markings, mesopleural stripe reaching midway between anterior margin of notopleuron and anterior npl. seta, lateral postsutural vittae beginning anterior to mesonotal suture, narrow medial postsutural vitta present, scuttelum yellow
- wing with a broad fuscous costal band expanding into a fuscous spot at wing apex, a broad fuscous anal streak, dark fuscous along dm-cu crossvein, pale infuscation along r-m crossvein, cells bc and c colourless, microtrichia in outer corner of cell c only
- abdominal terga III-V orange-brown except for a narrow transverse black band across anterior margin of tergum III which expands over anterolateral corners, a narrow medial longitudinal dark fuscous to black band over all three terga and anterolateral corners of terga IV and V fuscous
- posterior lobe of male surstylus long; female with aculeus needle shaped (Drew 1989; Drew and Romig 2013).
Morphological – larvae
See White and Elson-Harris 1992 p. 268
Molecular
DNA barcoding
Diagnostic BOLD reference data available.
COI data
Z. cucurbitae CUC002 Classic morphology Folmers COI
Z. cucurbitae CUC003 Scutum variation Folmers COI
Z. cucurbitae CUC004 Abdomen variation Folmers COI
Z. cucurbitae CUC007 Abdomen variation Folmers COI
Z. cucurbitae CUC009 Scutum variation Folmers COI
Z. cucurbitae CUC011 Scutum variation Folmers COI
Z. cucurbitae CUC013 Wing variation Folmers COI
RPA2 data
Z. cucurbitae CUC002 Classic morphology RPA2
Z. cucurbitae CUC004 Abdomen variation RPA2
Z. cucurbitae CUC011 Scutum variation RPA2
DDOSTs2
Z. cucurbitae CUC002 Classic morphology DDOSTs2
Z. cucurbitae CUC004 Abdomen variation DDOSTs2
Z. cucurbitae CUC011 Scutum variation DDOSTs2
POP4 data
Z. cucurbitae CUC002 Classic morphology POP4
Z. cucurbitae CUC003 Scutum variation POP4
Z. cucurbitae CUC004 Abdomen variation POP4
Z. cucurbitae CUC007 Abdomen variation POP4
Z. cucurbitae CUC009 Scutum variation POP4
Z. cucurbitae CUC011 Scutum variation POP4
Z. cucurbitae CUC013 Wing variation POP4
EIF3L data
Z. cucurbitae CUC002 Classic specimen EIF3L
Z. cucurbitae CUC011 Scutum variation EIF3L
PCR-RFLP Test 1
BsrI: Does not cut
HinfI: Does not cut
HhaI: 400, 180
Sau3AI: Does not cut
SnaBI: Does not cut
SspI: Does not cut
Vspl: Does not cut
Approximate ITS1 fragment length – gel: 600 bp
PCR-RFLP Test 2
RsaI produces a highly diagnostic restriction pattern; other useful enzymes are AluI, CfoI, DraI, HinfI, Sau3A, SspI. See Restriction enzyme haplotype chart and Diagnostic restriction patterns.
RsaI: 410, 400, 310, 290