Characterization of microsatellite loci in two primary parasitoids of the butterfly Melitaea cinxia, Cotesia melitaearum and Hyposoter horticola (Hymenoptera)

Five polymorphic microsatellite loci were isolated from Cotesia melitaearum (Wilkinson) and three from Hyposoter horticola (Gravenhost). Both of these parasitic Hymenoptera use the butterfly Melitaea cinxia (Linnaeus) exclusively as their host in the Aland islands in SW Finland. Allelic diversity and heterozygosity were quantified in samples from the Aland islands and other localities around Europe. In addition, microsatellite loci for C. melitaearum were tested in five other Cotesia species: C. acuminata (Reinhard), C. bignellii (Marshall), C. congregata (Say), C. cynthiae (Nixon) and C. koebelei (Riley) from several different host species in Europe and Asia.