Molecular phylogenetics of Vespoidea indicate paraphyly of the superfamily and novel relationships of its component families and subfamilies

Abstract

Molecular phylogenetics of Vespoidea indicate paraphyly of the superfamily and novel relationships of its component families and subfamilies. -Zoologica Scripta, 37 , 539-560. The 24 000+ described species of Vespoidea include many well-known stinging wasps, such as paper wasps and hornets (Vespidae), velvet ants (Mutillidae), spider wasps (Pompilidae) and ants (Formicidae). The compelling behaviours of vespoids have been instrumental in developing theories of stepwise evolutionary transitions, which necessarily depend on an understanding of phylogeny, yet, existing morphological phylogenies for Vespoidea conflict. We collected molecular data from four nuclear genes (elongation factor-1 α F2 copy, long-wavelength rhodopsin, wingless and the D2-D3 regions of 28S ribosomal RNA (2700 bp in total)) to produce the first molecular phylogeny of Vespoidea. We analysed molecular data alone and in combination with published morphological data from Brothers and Carpenter. Parsimony analyses left many deeper nodes unsupported, but suggested paraphyly of three families. Total-evidence Bayesian inference produced a more resolved tree, in which the monophyly of Vespoidea was nevertheless ambiguous. Bayesian inference of molecular data alone returned a well-resolved consensus with posterior probabilities of over 95% for most nodes. We used this topology as the best estimate of phylogeny at the family and subfamily levels. Notable departures from previous estimates include: (i) paraphyly of Vespoidea resulting from the nesting of Apoidea within a lineage comprising Formicidae, Scoliidae and two subfamilies of Bradynobaenidae; (ii) paraphyly of Bradynobaenidae, Mutillidae and Tiphiidae; (iii) a sister relationship between Rhopalosomatidae and Vespidae; and (iv) Rhopalosomatidae + Vespidae as sister to all other vespoids/apoids. We discuss character evidence in light of the new phylogeny, and propose a new classification of Aculeata that recognizes eight superfamilies: Apoidea, Chrysidoidea,

Evolution of the hymenopteran megaradiation

“…We would argue that all of our results support the thesis that the ''discovery'' of parasitism in the ancestor of the Vespina is the single most important shift in Hymenoptera. Within the Vespina, provisioning developed only within the Aculeata, followed by impressive independent shifts to eusociality in the Vespoidea and Apoidea (Pilgrim et al, 2008). Neither of these events are considered as important shifts in the diversification analyses of Davis et al (2010); however, this may be based on faulty assumptions such as a sister-group relationship between Vespoidea and Apoidea, which is not supported in any of our analyses or other recent analyses (Pilgrim et al, 2008;Vilhelmsen et al, 2010).…”

“…Apoidea, with Ampulicidae as sister to the remaining taxa (Fig. 1), were monophyletic and placed within a paraphyletic Vespoidea in most statistical analyses, which is in agreement with molecular and morphological studies by Pilgrim et al (2008) and Vilhelmsen et al (2010), but contrary to the supertree results of Davis et al (2010). Formicidae were monophyletic across all analyses, but with variable sister-group relationships in the statistical analyses that ranged from a monophyletic section of Vespoidea that included Scoliidae (Fig.…”

“…Within the Vespina, provisioning developed only within the Aculeata, followed by impressive independent shifts to eusociality in the Vespoidea and Apoidea (Pilgrim et al, 2008). Neither of these events are considered as important shifts in the diversification analyses of Davis et al (2010); however, this may be based on faulty assumptions such as a sister-group relationship between Vespoidea and Apoidea, which is not supported in any of our analyses or other recent analyses (Pilgrim et al, 2008;Vilhelmsen et al, 2010). Despite these discrepancies, we agree with other authors that, except for a major successful shift back to phytophagy through nectar and pollen-feeding in the bees and gall-making in some isolated lineages, parasitism is the major and most successful trait of the vast majority of Hymenoptera (Grissell, 1999;Whitfield, 2003).…”

Repeated evolution in overlapping mimicry rings among North American velvet ants

“…Molecular methods, including DNA extraction, PCR, sequencing and alignment followed the protocols of Pilgrim and Pitts 22 and Pilgrim et al 36 We amplified and sequenced a protein-coding marker, wingless, and two non-coding markers, ITS1 and ITS2. The non-coding and protein-coding markers were separately subjected to Bayesian analysis using MrBayes v3.1.2 (ref.…”

Composição faunística de vespas (Hymenoptera: Vespoidea) na Floresta Estacional do Parque Nacional da Serra da Bodoquena, Brasil

“…Atributos como o comportamento, que vai do social ao solitário, a grande variedade de hábitats que ocupam e a grande amplitude sazonal e altitudinal, conferem a estas vespas um "sucesso" ecológico na exploração de recursos, e as tornam importantes agentes estruturadores das comunidades (Sarmiento 1997). Pilgrim et al (2008) acreditam que Vespoidea seja um grupo parafilético e propõem uma nova classificação dos Hymenoptera Aculeata, reconhecendo oito superfamílias: Apoidea, Chrysidoidea, Formicoidea, Pompiloidea, Scolioidea, Tiphioidea, Thynnoidea e Vespoidea.…”