A phylogenomic perspective on the Systematics of Mutillidae (Hymenoptera), with emphasis on Sphaeropthalminae (genome sequencing and assembly)

We propose the first molecular phylogeny of Mutillidae based on hundreds of ultraconserved elements, with taxon sampling heavily weighted towards Sphaeropthalminae, but including representatives from the most rich genera encountered in the New World, in a sense that this effort represents a comprehensive generic level phylogenomic study for the family. Our goals are to set the phylogenetic boundaries of Sphaeropthalminae assessing the support for all nodes using concatenation, multispecies coalescent and Bayesian inference; and to unveil evolutionary relationships between its major lineages, checking for congruences and conflicts across independent gene trees and by conducting tests of support, emphasizing Sphaeropthalminae.