A Molecular Phylogeny of the Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera)

Abstract

Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera) are extremely diverse with more than 23,000 species described and over 500,000 species estimated to exist. This is the first comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of the superfamily based on a molecular analysis of 18S and 28S ribosomal gene regions for 19 families, 72 subfamilies, 343 genera and 649 species. The 56 outgroups are comprised of Ceraphronoidea and most proctotrupomorph families, including Mymarommatidae. Data alignment and the impact of ambiguous regions are explored using a secondary structure analysis and automated (MAFFT) alignments of the core and pairing regions and regions of ambiguous alignment. Both likelihood and parsimony approaches are used to analyze the data. Overall there is no impact of alignment method, and few but substantial differences between likelihood and parsimony approaches. Monophyly of Chalcidoidea and a sister group relationship between Mymaridae and the remaining Chalcidoidea is strongly supported in all analyses. Either Mymarommatoidea or Diaprioidea are the sister group of Chalcidoidea depending on the analysis. Likelihood analyses place Rotoitidae as the sister group of the remaining Chalcidoidea after Mymaridae, whereas parsimony nests them within Chalcidoidea. Some traditional family groups are supported as monophyletic (Agaonidae, Eucharitidae, Encyrtidae, Eulophidae, Leucospidae, Mymaridae, Ormyridae, Signiphoridae, Tanaostigmatidae and Trichogrammatidae). Several other families are paraphyletic (Perilampidae) or polyphyletic (Aphelinidae, Chalcididae, Eupelmidae, Eurytomidae, Pteromalidae, Tetracampidae and Torymidae). Evolutionary scenarios discussed for Chalcidoidea include the evolution of phytophagy, egg parasitism, sternorrhynchan parasitism, hypermetamorphic development and heteronomy.

The life history of Pseudometagea schwarzii, with a discussion of the evolution of endoparasitism and koinobiosis in Eucharitidae and Perilampidae (Chalcidoidea)

“…Eucharitidae and Perilampidae form a monophyletic group within Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera) (Munro et al 2011. Females lay their eggs away from the larval food source, and the sclerotized first-instar larvae (planidia) are active in and development occurs on exposed pupae in the brood pile.…”

A living fossil fig wasp (Hymenoptera, Agaoninae) developing in extant Neotropical fig species (Moraceae: Ficus, section Pharmacosycea)

“…18), in his morphological cladistic analyses about the evolution of the mandibular appendage, and the pollinating syndromes of the Agaoninae, placed Tetrapus as the most basal clade to all other extant Agaoninae groups, and section Pharmacosycea, as the most ancestral group of Ficus. Those cladistic positions were corroborated by molecular phylogenetic analyses by Herre et al (1996), Weiblen (2000), Rønsted et al (2005), Røn-sted, Weiblen, Clement, Zerega and Savolainen (2008), and Munro et al (2011). Machado et al (2001) noted that the passively pollinating Tetrapus appears to be the most ancient pollinator genus associated with the monoecious Neotropical subgenus Pharmacosycea; and that, both morphological and molecular data, support New World section Pharmacosycea as the earliest derivation among existing figs.…”

“…Rønsted et al (2005) fig-pollinating wasps). However, the Tetrapus species molecularly analyzed by those authors, as well as others, correspond to extant Tetrapus Machado et al, 1996;Jousselin, Rasplus, & Kjellberg, 2003;Datwyler & Weiblen, 2004;Rønsted et al, 2005;2008;Jian, Zhu, & Zhen, 2006;Lopez-Vaamonde et al, 2009;Azuma et al, 2010;Erasmus, van Noort, Jousselin, & Greeff, 2010;Munro et al, 2011;Cruad et al, 2009Cruad et al, , 2011Cruad et al, , 2012. The objectives of this work were to study the association of five Tetrapus morphotypes whose females have two independent mandibular appendages and hexapodous males; explain their origin and morphological relationships to other pollinating wasps of subgenus Pharmacosycea and other pollinating genera, their taxonomic position, and its origin.…”

Revision of Canadian Eurytomidae (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea) associated with galls induced by cynipid wasps of the genus Diplolepis Geoffroy (Hymenoptera, Cynipidae) and description of a new species

“…The systematic placement of the Eurytomidae within the superfamily Chalcidoidea has been controversial in past studies (Lotfalizadeh et al 2007b, Gates 2008, Munro et al 2011, Heraty et al 2013). The species treated by Bugbee (e.g.…”