Abstract
Diversification in insects has often been linked to the evolution of angiosperms. The majority of studies reporting this link, however, have been done on herbivorous insects. It remains unclear if the diversification of angiosperms was also influential in the diversification of species-rich, carnivorous insect groups. Here we investigate the timing of the origin and diversification in the stinging wasps (Hymenoptera: Aculeata). We employ a Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo relaxed clock approach to estimate divergence times for 13 wasp families and eight superfamilies. Divergence times are calibrated with 12 fossils representing groups in various lineages. Our results indicate that many of the modern aculeate families originated during the Cretaceous and in concert with the diversification of angiosperms. This similarity between diversification ages in wasps and in angiosperms may be due to an increased habitat complexity and prey diversity that early angiosperm forests provided.
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Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, and is approved as journal paper no. 8372. This work was also supported by the National Science Foundation award DEB-0743763 to JPP and CDvD and DEB-1020509 and DEB-1050726 to MLF.
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Wilson, J.S., von Dohlen, C.D., Forister, M.L. et al. Family-Level Divergences in the Stinging Wasps (Hymenoptera: Aculeata), with Correlations to Angiosperm Diversification. Evol Biol 40, 101–107 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11692-012-9189-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11692-012-9189-0