Abstract: Genetic variations are closely related to population persistence and evolutionary potential, and the changes in genetic variation due to biological invasions may provide ideal model to resolve various ecological and evolutionary issues in nature. Molecular markers are powerful tools by which we can investigate the ecological and evolutionary impacts of invasive species. These approaches enable the processes, consequences and future expectations of biological invasions to be identified. To introduce the research progress of the applications of molecular markers in insect invasion, we have highlighted studies that have used molecular markers to address various ecological and evolutionary aspects of biological invasions, including detection and monitoring of cryptic invasion, estimating method for refactoring invasion histories, and the important research progress in the mechanisms of population genetic variation and successful invasion, selected typical cases to illustrate the research areas that are particularly relevant, and reviewed the application prospects of high-resolution melting (HRM ) analysis in studying insect invasion.

Key words:  Biological invasion, invasive insect, molecular markers, cryptic invasion, invasion history, genetic diversity  Biological invasion, invasive insect, molecular markers, cryptic invasion, invasion history, genetic diversity Biological invasion, invasive insect, molecular markers, cryptic invasion, invasion history, genetic diversity