Phylogenomics, biogeography, and classification of long-horned bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Eucerini)

Wednesday, November 16, 2022

2:47 PM – 3:05 PM PT

Location: Vancouver Convention Centre, Meeting Room 119/120

Presenting Author(s)

Felipe V. Freitas

Postdoctoral researcher
Washington State University
Pullman, Washington

Co-Author(s)

Michael G. Branstetter (he/him/his)

Research Entomologist
USDA-ARS Pollinating Insects Research Unit
Logan, Utah

Co-author(s)

VF

Vinicius Franceschini-Santos

Universidade de São Paulo
Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
AD

Achik Dorchin

Universite de Mons
Mons, Hainaut, Belgium

Co-Author(s)

KW

Karen Wright

Washington State Department of Agriculture
Yakima, Washington

Co-author(s)

Margarita López-Uribe (she/her/hers)

Associate Professor
Pennsylvania State University
University Park, Pennsylvania

Co-Author(s)

TG

Terry L. Griswold

Research Entomologist
USDA ARS Pollinating Insects Research Unit
Logan, Utah

Co-author(s)

FS

Fernando Silveira

Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
EA

Eduardo A. B. Almeida

Universidade de São Paulo
Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Long-horned bees (Apidae, Eucerini) are conspicuous elements of the fauna of many different biomes and include some important crop pollinators. The group was extensively studied throughout the twentieth century, producing a good taxonomic understanding of its diversity through revisions of most of its genera. However, the continued growth of species-level taxonomic knowledge was not accompanied by investigating the phylogenetic relationships among eucerine taxa, primarily due to its relatively homogeneous external morphology and the rarity of many of its species in nature. Notable exceptions were analyses based on molecular data of a few loci, which shed light on the initial diversification of Eucerini and clarified relationships in a few inner lineages of the group. Here, we present a comprehensive phylogenetic study of long-horned bees, including nearly all genera and subgenera recognized in recent classifications. We built a dataset of ultraconserved elements sampled for 153 species from all biogeographic regions where Eucerini are known to occur. Our results agree with most of what had been found in previous studies, including representatives of the group, recognizing seven main lineages and most of the genera and subgenera as reciprocally monophyletic. Using the phylogenetic hypothesis obtained as a fundament, we: (1) proposed an updated classification for the group; (2) estimated divergence times for the group; and (3) conducted a detailed exploration of its historical biogeography, showing how the process of occupation of most of the continents by eucerine bees took place after its initial diversification in southern South America during the Eocene.