Differences between sympatric populations of Eotetranychus carpini collected from Vitis vinifera and Carpinus betulus: insights from host-switch experiments and molecular data

Eotetranychus carpini occurs on a number of different plants, including Carpinus betulus and Vitis vinifera. The question regarding the identity of mites found on V. vinifera and C. betulus is open. We used biological and molecular approaches to investigate this issue. Host-switch experiments suggest the differentiation of mites collected on the two hosts. Molecular work showed significant genetic differentiation between the mites collected from the two hosts.