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At the same time that molecular researchers are improving techniques to extract DNA from museum specimens, this increased demand for access to museum specimens has created tension between the need to preserve specimens for maintaining collections and morphological research and the desire to conduct molecular analyses. To address these concerns, we examined the suitability of non-invasive DNA extraction techniques on three species of parasitic Hymenoptera (Braconidae), and test the effects of body size (parasitoid species), age (time since collection), and DNA concentration from each extract on the probability of amplifying meaningful fragments of two commonly used genetic loci. We found that age was a significant factor for determining the probability of success for sequencing both 28S and COI fragments. While the size of the braconid parasitoids significantly affected the total amount of extracted DNA, neither size nor DNA concentration were significant factors for the amplification of either gene region. We also tested several primer combinations of various lengths, but were unable to amplify fragments longer than ∼150 base pairs. These short fragments of 28S and COI were however sufficient for species identification, and for the discovery of within species genetic variation.

The European winter moth, Operophtera brumata, is a non-native pest in the Northeastern USA causing defoliation of forest trees and crops such as apples and blueberries. This species is known to hybridize with O. bruceata, the Bruce spanworm, a native species across North America, although it is not known if there are hybrid generations beyond F1. To study winter moth population genetics and hybridization with Bruce spanworm, we developed two sets of genetic markers, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and microsatellites, using genomic approaches. Both types of markers were validated using samples from the two species and their hybrids. We identified 1216 SNPs and 24 variable microsatellite loci. From them we developed a subset of 95 species-diagnostic SNPs and ten microsatellite loci that could be used for hybrid identification. We further validated the ten microsatellite loci by screening field collected samples of both species and putative hybrids. In addition to confirming the presence of F1 hybrids reported in previous studies, we found evidence for multi-generation asymmetric hybridization, as suggested by the occurrence of hybrid backcrosses with the winter month, but not with the Bruce spanworm. Laboratory crosses between winter moth females and Bruce spanworm males resulted in a higher proportion of viable eggs than the reciprocal cross, supporting this pattern. We discuss the possible roles of population demographics, sex chromosome genetic incompatibility, and bacterial symbionts as causes of this asymmetrical hybridization and the utility of the developed markers for future studies.