MITOCHONDRIAL-DNA VARIABILITY AND GEOGRAPHIC ORIGIN OF THE SHEEP BLOWFLY, LUCILIA-CUPRINA (DIPTERA, CALLIPHORIDAE), IN NEW-ZEALAND

Variation in the sheep bIowfly, Lucilia cuprina (Weidemann), mitochond rial DNA (mtDNA) was assessed using restriction endonucleases. Ten ind ividuals from 13 localities throughout New Zealand and Australia were examined using 18 restriction endonucleases. Only two localities exhib ited polymorphism, suggesting historical events have contributed to th is low level of mitochondrial variability in L. cuprina from these reg ions. A 472 base pair region of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene (COI) was sequenced from six Australasian regions and samples fr om South Africa and Malaysia. Phylogenetic analyses using both parsimo ny and neighbor-joining methods indicates possible multiple introducti ons of L. cuprina in New Zealand.