Abstract
Wolbachia are the most common bacterial endosymbionts of insects. Wolbachia may alter host behaviour and reproduction, and also influence the development of insecticide resistance. Understanding the prevalence and distribution of Wolbachia can therefore be important when developing pest management strategies. We screened Wolbachia in Tribolium castaneum Herbst (Tenebrionidae; Coleoptera), Rhyzopertha dominica Fab. (Bostrichidae; Coleoptera), and Sitophilus oryzae L. (Curculionidae; Coleoptera) across India. The abundance of Wolbachia infection varied across these species, despite them sharing the same resources. Wolbachia infected S. oryzae individuals were detected at all sites, though the proportion of infected individuals at each site ranged from 20-100%. Wolbachia infection was less common in T. castaneum, with infected individuals detected at only 19% of all sites. Wolbachia infection was not detected in R. dominica. Wolbachia was most prevalent in the southern India, though there was no significant association between temperature and Wolbachia prevalence. Our results illustrate how the prevalence of Wolbachia can differ across species sharing an identical resource, and emphasise that broad geographic screening is required to accurately quantify the distribution and abundance of endosymbionts.